White House & Capitol Evacuated

[CaravanMan]

This just in...

According to those investigating the incident, the pilot's first statement was...

"I knew I should have made a left at Albuquerque."


Ahhh, thank you Looney Tunes.

 

[JumpJetter]

N5826G is Assigned​

Assigned/Registered Aircraft
​

Aircraft Description

Serial Number 15071326 Type Registration Corporation Manufacturer Name
CESSNA
Certificate Issue Date
03/27/1997 Model
150K
Status
Valid Type Aircraft
Fixed Wing Single-Engine
Type Engine
Reciprocating Pending Number Change
None
Dealer
No Date Change Authorized
None
Mode S Code
51700207 MFR Year
None
Fractional Owner
NO


Registered Owner

Name VINTAGE AERO CLUB Street
311 AIRPORT DR City
SMOKETOWN State PENNSYLVANIA Zip Code 17576 County
LANCASTER Country
UNITED STATES

------------------------------------

NTSB Identification: NYC79FHD17
14 CFR Part 91 General Aviation
Event occurred Sunday, June 24, 1979 in COATESVILLE, PA
Aircraft: CESSNA 150, registration: N5826G ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-2983 79/6/24 COATESVILLE,PA CESSNA 150 CR- 0 0 1 INSTRUCTIONAL STUDENT, AGE 22, 21 TOTAL
TIME - 1100 N5826G PX- 0 0 0 SOLO HOURS, ALL IN TYPE, NOT
DAMAGE-SUBSTANTIAL OT- 0 0 0 INSTRUMENT RATED.
NAME OF AIRPORT - CHESTER CARLSON
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
COATESVILLE,PA LOCAL
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
COLLIDED WITH: TREES LANDING: GO-AROUND
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - IMPROPER COMPENSATION FOR WIND CONDITIONS
PILOT IN COMMAND - DELAYED IN INITIATING GO-AROUND
REMARKS- DRIFTED L OF RWY.

 

[learflyer]

Some bimbo from msnbc called it a "small cessna jet aircraft" The media makes this country so stupid.

 

[TurboS7]

Should just shoot them down....that will teach those GA pilots.

 

[dseagrav]

I overheard a few co-workers talking about it over lunch... Appparently there's pictures running around of a few suits talking to the pilot as he sits on the ramp in handcuffs. The sales manager was talking to the owner saying Cessnas are "flying SUVs" and that "there's no reason they have to let them anywhere near populated areas".

I almost want to go educate him but I don't want to lose my job for publicly making him look stupid (or getting mad enough to slug him), so I just let him run on with his verbal diarhrea while the rest of the salesdrones just absorbed it...

 

[surv1]

Here's the story:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Parts of the White House, Capitol and Supreme Court were briefly evacuated Wednesday when a small plane violated restricted airspace over Washington, the White House said.

Fighter jets and a Black Hawk helicopter were scrambled to intercept a high-wing Cessna, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

President Bush was not at the White House at the time. Vice President Dick Cheney was in the West Wing of the building when the alert was issued and was moved to a secure location, McClellan said.

The plane was within three miles of the White House before it was turned away by the military aircraft, McClellan said.

The terror alert level was raised to orange -- or high -- when the airspace incursion was first reported, and then raised to red -- severe -- when the pilot failed to respond to calls on his radio, McClellan said.

The plane was escorted to a small airport in Frederick, Maryland. The pilot was being interviewed by local authorities and the Secret Service, McClellan said.

An all-clear announcement was issued about 15 minutes after the evacuation alert.

People streamed out of the White House after being told to evacuate.

"Run, this is no joke, leave the grounds," a U.S. Secret Service agent told CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw said he saw two F-16 jets circle a single-engine airplane and fire warning flares. The jets, which scrambled from nearby Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, then seemed to direct the small aircraft away from downtown Washington, Shaw said.

A Black Hawk helicopter joined the F-16s to escort the plane to a landing site.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, told The Associated Press he was on the Senate floor when police told him to evacuate. "They said, 'Get out of here.' So I ran. There's no joking about this kind of stuff," Shelby said.

On the House floor, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, said, "There was so much commotion in the gallery," AP reported. "People were yelling in the gallery. We thought something had happened in the gallery, and then the alarm came to evacuate."

Across the street from the Capitol, at least four justices in the Supreme Court building were evacuated along with other staff.

Malveaux said a motorcade of six or seven cars left the White House during the evacuation. The motorcade returned about 15 minutes later.

At the time of the incident, Bush was on a bike ride with a security detail in Maryland, officials said.

A handcuffed man, wearing shorts and a short-sleeve shirt was led into a police car on the runway after his plane was forced to land. The Cessna 152 is registered to the Vintage Aero Club in Smoketown, Pennsylvania.

 

[SiuDude]

This just in from Fox News:
"the initial alert was sounded after the Cessna started approaching restricted airspace and failed to make the proper squawking noises."

I knew it had to be the squawking noises.

 

[TurboS7]

I love grammar check. I am sure the reporter thought about that one after it left his/her mouth.

 

[Pugh]

Was the laser system used?

 

[User546]

Did you guys see the footage on CNN where they were shooting the flares across the nose of the airplane? That was pretty cool.

Incidentally, I found out about this when my father-in-law called me on my cell phone. He knew I was going to be on a trip today or tomorrow, and he wanted to make sure it wasn't me up there. Makes me wonder what he thinks I've been flying all this time.