Barbara Rumpel, an NRA leader and conservative donor, confirmed her daughter and granddaughter, 2, were killed alongside nanny and pilot in private jet crash that sparked F-16 response as 'unresponsive pilot' flew over the capital.
Barbara Rumpel, a businesswoman and member of the NRA Women's Leadership Forum from Florida, confirmed the news on Facebook Sunday after the small plane went down in the mountainous region of Virginia.
'My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,' Rumpel wrote in a Facebook comment.
The flight had prompted the Pentagon to scramble an interceptor fighter jet after it became unresponsive and flew close to both the US Capitol building and the White House at around 3.30pm Sunday.
Rumpel's husband John, claimed that his 'entire family' was on the plane.
Rumpel claimed his family was heading back to their home in East Hampton on Long Island after visiting him in North Carolina.
The flight did a U-Turn over Washington, DC, on its flightpath while heading toward New York. NORAD aircraft used flares to try and draw attention from the pilot.
Flight tracking sites showed the jet suffered a rapid spiraling descent, dropping at one point at a rate of more than 30,000 feet per minute before crashing in the St. Mary's Wilderness.
Rumpel told the New York Times that his family members' likely last moments were like 'they all just would have gone to sleep and never woke up.'
State police confirmed the wreckage of the plane was found in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway area, in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found.
'At 3:50 p.m. Sunday (June 4, 2023), the Virginia State Police was notified of a possible aircraft crash in the Staunton/Blue Ridge Parkway region,' a spokesperson for Virginia State Police said.
'Search efforts by the Virginia State Police, Augusta County Sheriff's Office and Augusta County Fire-Rescue immediately got underway by ground and air across the region.
'Shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday (June 4, 2023), first responders were able to reach the crash site by foot.
'State police has suspended its search efforts. No survivors were located.'