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| Capitol and White House Evacuated |
| 2005-05-11 |
| The nation's capital was given the green light Wednesday afternoon about one hour after a small airplane violated restricted airspace over the city, forcing the rapid evacuation of the White House, the U.S. Capitol Building (search) and the Supreme Court around noontime. Two F-16 military jets scrambled over to Washington from Andrews Air Force Base just outside the city in Maryland. The jet pilots met the plane, which came within four miles of the U.S. Capitol and three miles of the White House, and escorted it out of the Air Defense Identification Zone to Frederick, Md., about 50 minutes northwest of the city. The jets then returned to the air base. The Pentagon was not evacuated and the mood there was described as "business as usual." However, North American Aerospace Air Defense (search), which operates in part out of the Pentagon, coordinated with air and Homeland Security officials. Police in Washington shouted at lawmakers, staff members, media and tourists to run from the buildings. About 20 minutes later, the evacuations were cancelled. The pilot, who was said to have entered the restricted space then exited and re-entered before being warned out of the area with four flares, was ordered to touch down in Frederick. The plane, a small two-seat, high-wing Cessna 150, was apparently flying from Smoketown, Pa., near Lancaster, according to Homeland Security officials. The pilot is in custody and federal and Maryland state law enforcement officials were considering charges against him. President Bush was not at the White House at the time of the evacuation. He was taking part in a bike ride at Patuxent Wildlife Refuge outside the city. The president headed back to the White House after his motorcade was cleared for return. First lady Laura Bush and visiting guest Nancy Reagan, the former first lady, were at the White House and taken to a secure location there. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #13 It's kind of difficult to throttle back an F-16 enough to keep up with a Cessna 150 and still stay in the air. They need an A-10 for slow movers like that. Can you imagine the pucker factor of seeing an A-10 line up on your tail with that GAU-8 cannon pointed directly at your spine? With a decent headwind, an A-10 can almost hover... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-05-11 20:33 |
| #12 Cessna vs F16? Sounds like herding a calf to the slaughteryard |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-11 19:49 |
| #11 Falling debris - too much collateral damage on the ground. |
| Posted by: rkb 2005-05-11 19:34 |
| #10 I'm for it - lesson demonstrated |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-11 19:31 |
| #9 The wife and I work on opposite sides of the WH. She called me, text messaged me and called my mobile while I had it off. She was halfway to our rendevous point by the time I got the message. I found out about the all clear before she did. Cell phones did not work well because the systems were so busy. For a few minutes it was like 9/11 in terms of uncertainty and inability to communicate. Fortunately it turned out to be nothing more than an excuse to have lunch out of the office on a nice day. How can a flying instructor be so stupid as to fly in DC restricted airspace? A Darwin award was deserved. If the USAF had smoked this guy, I think that the public would be 80/20 in favor. |
| Posted by: JAB 2005-05-11 19:15 |
| #8 It was just those giant grasshoppers again. To be expected after a wet winter. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-05-11 13:28 |
| #7 UPDATE: ALL CLEAR. A spokesman for the North American Air Defense (search) said they expect to issue a statement within an hour on the event. here's a working link to Fox news article. |
| Posted by: GK 2005-05-11 12:44 |
| #6 Hey Alaska Paul, looks like you need to update your sectionals again ! |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2005-05-11 12:28 |
| #5 Well that certainly energized an otherwise boring day in the District. |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2005-05-11 12:28 |
| #4 isn't Alaska Paul flying today? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-11 12:12 |
| #3 cessna f*&ked up |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-11 12:11 |
| #2 FAA tracking an unidentified aircraft |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-11 12:08 |
| #1 bigtime! all senators and WH staff ordered out |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-11 12:05 |