Sonic boom and plane crashes: A tale of intercepts and tragedies.

An authorized Department of Defense flight caused a sonic boom heard across Maryland and Virginia on Sunday afternoon. An F-16 fighter aircraft intercepted an unresponsive Cessna aircraft over Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, and the sonic boom may have been heard as a result. The Cessna soon crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, and National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating. The NORAD aircraft also used flares, which may have been visible to the public.