The plane flew from Florida to NY. Then turned to make an approach for landing, but never descended. Instead , the plane flew back on a flight path similar on its flight north, but veered off slightly so that it entered semi restricted air space. However, the plane never dropped below its 33,000 altitude , so it could not be considered a direct threat to DC.
The plane had autopilot for flight path , but not for speed. So the plane dropped 24,000 rpm and crashed.
What kind of plane flies itself back from whence it came unless it was sabotaged and under remote control.