Pilot of unresponsive private jet

We can't say for sure that the pilot of the unresponsive private jet that crashed into the water was drunk, but the likely cause of the crash is not yet clear.

An unresponsive private jet pilot is intercepted by supersonic military fighter jets protecting Washington, D.C. A source familiar with the response told CNN the trigger man was seen slumped in his seat.

The Cessna Citation plane with only one pilot and three passengers on board crashed in woods near Waynesboro, Virginia, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. According to authorities, there were no survivors.

Another source told CNN that crash investigators are primarily interested in hypoxia, the lack of oxygen in the blood, which the pilot and passengers failed to respond to attempts by air traffic controllers and even other civilian aircraft to make contact. The reason for the reaction is with the unfortunate kick plane.

Aviation experts say hypoxia, a potential risk of flying at high altitudes, may be caused by depressurization of aircraft pressurized cabins. The flight was from East Tennessee to Long Island, New York, at an altitude of 34,000 feet, and the pilots had 30 to 60 seconds to put on their oxygen masks if the air pressure dropped or they risked losing consciousness.

When the F-16 arrived at the Cessna 560 Citation V at around 3:20 p.m., the jet pilot fired flares to get the pilot's attention, according to a news release from the continental US North American Aerospace Defense Command on Sunday.

"The pilot did not respond and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia," the release said. "NORAD attempted to contact the pilot until the crash."

The FAA lost contact with the plane just 15 minutes after takeoff, according to a statement from the agency and data from flight-tracking website FlightAware.

About eight minutes after losing contact, the agency contacted the Domestic Incident Network, which consists of the military, national security, homeland security and other law enforcement agencies, according to the FAA statement.

The civilian plane from Elizabethton, Tennessee flew over its destination at MacArthur Airport on Long Island, New York, turned around and crashed in Virginia on Sunday afternoon, NORAD and LiveATC.net reported.

In addition to the F-16, air traffic controllers and other civilian pilots desperately tried to contact the unresponsive crew by radio as the plane headed toward Washington, D.C., at 34,000 feet. It flew, according to recordings by LiveATC.net.