NRA director pays heartbreaking tribute to daughter and granddaughter killed in Cessna crash

A Florida woman and NRA director has posted a heartbreaking tribute to her daughter and granddaughter after it was confirmed that no one survived the wayward and unresponsive corporate jet that flew over the capital national Sunday afternoon.

The flight, which prompted the Pentagon to scramble an interceptor fighter plane on Sunday afternoon as the pilot became unresponsive.

The Cessna private jet from Elizabethton, Tennessee approached both the U.S. Capitol and the White House around 3:30 p.m., Federal Aviation Administration officials said.

Barbara Rumpel, a businesswoman and member of the NRA Women’s Leadership Form, posted on Facebook on Sunday confirming that her daughter and granddaughter died in the accident.

“My family is gone, my daughter and my granddaughter,” Rumpel wrote in the comments to a post sharing his attendance at an NRA conference.

The plane that crashed was registered with Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc. Rumoel’s husband, John, the owner of Encore Motors, claimed that “his whole family” was on the plane, including his daughter, her grandson and the child’s nanny.

“We don’t know anything about the accident,” he told the Washington Post. “We are now talking to the FAA. I have to keep the line clear.

The Rumpels are large-scale donors to conservative political candidates, including former President Donald Trump, having given a total of $250,000 to a PAC supporting Trump’s 2020 campaign.

They also donated to Senate candidate Herschel Walker and congressional candidate Laura Loomer.

Barbara Rumpel also served as co-chair of the Second Amendment Coalition for Trump-Pence in 2016. She has served on the NRA’s Women’s Leadership Council since 2002 and spent more than six years on the organization’s executive committee.

Virginia State Police confirmed to DailyMail.com through a spokeswoman on Sunday evening that there were no survivors.

The plane was en route to Long Island, New York, but once it reached its destination, it turned around and flew back to Washington DC, according to flight paths. A source close to the situation said Reuters he seemed to be on autopilot at the time.

The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that a Cessna private jet, like the one seen here, crashed in the mountainous regions of Virginia

It has since been confirmed that four people were on the flight at the time, CNN said.

US military officials dispatched fighter jets from Andrews Air Force Base, where President Joe Biden was golfing at the time, to pursue the Cessna Citation, which can only carry about 12 passengers.

Flight tracking sites showed the jet had undergone a rapid spiral descent, at one point falling at a speed of over 30,000 feet per minute before crashing into the St. Mary’s Wilderness.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command later said in a statement that the F-16 was cleared to travel at supersonic speeds, which caused a sonic boom.

The plane ultimately crashed in mountainous Virginia, although military officials deny the chase caused the accident.

A search is now underway for the crash site in Staunton, WFXRTV reports.

The Department of Homeland Security said there was no threat at this time.

A Twitter user showing his dog reacting to the loud sonic boom caused by the plane crash

The private jet from Elizabethton, Tennessee flew over restricted airspace in Washington DC and approached the White House and US Capitol.

Dozens of people said they heard a huge ‘bang’ or ‘explosion’ in DC – which shook the ground and was compared to an earthquake

The Annapolis Emergency Management Office said the loud noise was caused by an authorized Department of Defense flight

“During this occurrence, the NORAD aircraft also used flares – which may have been visible to the public – in an attempt to get the pilot’s attention,” the statement said.

“Flare flares are used with the utmost respect for the safety of intercepted aircraft and people on the ground. Flares extinguish quickly and completely and there is no danger to people on the ground when dispensed.

Virginia State Police said officers were notified of the potential crash shortly before 4 p.m. Police were still working to find the plane on Sunday evening but had been unable to locate the crash site, police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.

But the announcement only came after multiple agencies received a flurry of calls about the noise, which was heard as far away as Annapolis, Maryland.

The loud sound scared off some social media users who said it shook their homes.

Now some residents of DC, Maryland and Virginia are upset that there was no warning about the sonic boom.

“If this was truly a sonic boom just felt in Maryland and Virginia, the government has serious explanations to give and a pilot must be dishonorably discharged immediately,” Matt Cox wrote.

“It was strong enough to shake my fucking coffee table. Thank God there are no children in the house.

President Joe Biden was golfing at the time of the sonic boom at Andrews Air Force Base

The president was joined on his golf outing by his brother, Jimmy Biden

Social media users reported hearing a huge ‘bang’ across the city, with some saying it shook their homes

Some online said they were afraid to go outside afterwards, while others said whatever the source of the noise, it couldn’t be good.

It shook many people in the DC area who took to Twitter to report hearing a loud noise that shook the floor and walls. Several residents said they heard the noise as far north as Virginia and Maryland.

“There was an explosion in Washington DC a few minutes ago. It seems to have been heard across much of the city,” Hussein Ibish tweeted. “I have no idea what happened, but it’s not good.”

Erica Petacchi added that she had just got out of her car when she heard the noise and “felt something”.

“This is unlike anything I’ve experienced before,” she tweeted. “I thought it was a big gas explosion nearby.”

Eventually, however, the City of Annapolis Emergency Management Office announced that the noise was simply the result of a sonic boom.

“The loud boom that was heard in the DMV area was caused by an authorized DOD flight,” he said. “This flight caused a sonic boom.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently investigating the plane crash.

A White House official said, “The president has been briefed on the incident. The resulting sound from cleared DOD aircraft was low at JBA.

The Pentagon and the DC Air National Guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.