To keep the journos awake all night.
Calling a lid is a signal to the press that there will be no more news out of the WH that night.
https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-White-House-means-when-they-say-“thats-a-lid”-to-the-press-What-did-they-mean-by-this-on-the-West-Wing
A Northrop N9M is an old classic flying wing plane from the 1940s.
Only a few (4) ever made for experimental purposes so it is a pretty rare bird.
Most likely this is an accident rather than spoopy.
This plane is probably the one owned by Planes Of Fame Air Museum based in Chino Calif.
Odd indeed. IMO probably a coinkidink but who knows.
Plane built of wood, it burned up.
The N-9M framework was partially constructed of wood to reduce its overall weight. The wings' outer surfaces were also skinned with a strong, specially laminated plywood. The central section (roughly equivalent to the fuselage) was made of welded tubular steel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_N-9M
Multiple planefags on watch at the moment. ;)