XPost: alt.politics.usa.republican, misc.legal, rec.aviation.military 
 XPost: rec.aviation.misc, rec.aviation.piloting, rec.aviation.student 
 XPost: soc.culture.iraq, us.military.army, us.military.national-guard 
 From: jonez@norcom.ca 
  
  "- Prof. Jonez€" wrote: 
 > D.C. told: 'Run!' as plane strays 
 > Amid 9/11 parallels, White House, Capitol evacuated and fighters 
 > streak skies as Cessna violates no-fly zone 
 > 
 > BY CRAIG GORDON AND SYLVIA ADCOCK 
 > STAFF WRITERS; Tom Brune and Deborah Barfield Berry, both of the 
 > Washington Bureau, contributed to this story. Adcock reported from 
 > Long Island. 
 > May 12, 2005 
 > 
 > WASHINGTON -- Fighter jets ready to shoot diverted a single-engine 
 > plane flying just three miles from the White House yesterday, but not 
 > before the pilot's mistaken course touched off panicked evacuations 
 > in the nation's capital and drama in the skies above. 
 > 
 > Any closer to the White House and the F-16 pilots might have faced a 
 > shoot-to-kill order from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was 
 > monitoring the situation at the Pentagon, said U.S. defense and 
 > aviation officials. 
 > Instead, the two fighters maneuvered in front of the plane and fired 
 > four flares - usually one or two will do the trick, officials said - 
 > before they got the attention of the people on board, a pilot and 
 > flight student from Pennsylvania who were flying the Cessna C-152 
 > two-seater to a North Carolina air show. 
 > 
 > On the ground, the White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court were 
 > evacuated, prompting eerie parallels to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, 
 > when Washington was emptied after a jumbo jet plowed into the 
 > Pentagon. Fighters streaked overhead that day, too, amid rumors of a 
 > second plane headed toward the capital. 
 > 
 > "Run, run, run!" security officials shouted to staff at the White 
 > House, which was raised to the "red alert" at 12:03 p.m. when the 
 > plane was just three miles out. Eight minutes later - at 12:11 p.m. - 
 > the alert status was reduced to "yellow" after the plane was diverted 
 > west, and three minutes later, the Secret Service gave the all-clear. 
 > 
 > President George W. Bush was on a bike ride in a Maryland wildlife 
 > refuge 30 minutes away. His Secret Service detail decided not to 
 > interrupt his ride to tell him of the incident, the White House said. 
 > 
 > The two men had been "flying by sight" and strayed into the capital's 
 > no-fly zone in what the Justice Department called an "accidental 
 > intrusion." 
 > The men were freed without criminal charges, but the Federal Aviation 
 > Administration can take action against the pilot's license for 
 > violating airspace regulations, officials said. 
 > 
 > The men - Hayden Sheaffer, of Lititz, Pa., and student pilot Troy 
 > Martin, of Akron, Pa. - were flying a plane owned by Vintage Aero 
 > Club, a group of fliers based at Smoketown Airport west of 
 > Philadelphia. 
 > "Troy was discussing with me ... all about the no-fly zones and how 
 > they were going to avoid them," Martin's wife, Jill, told The 
 > Associated Press. 
 > Instead, the men's plane wandered into restricted airspace, failing 
 > to respond to radio calls as it covered 12 miles in four minutes, 
 > according to a timeline provided by the White House. 
 > 
 > The Cessna heading for Washington first came to the attention of air 
 > traffic controllers at 11:28 a.m., said the Federal Aviation 
 > Administration. Military officials grew nervous because the plane 
 > appeared "on a straight-in shot toward the center of the Washington 
 > area," said Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer, and not merely 
 > skirting the edge of the White House no-fly zone as other errant 
 > pilots usually do. 
 > But aviation sources said that concern lessened somewhat after Black 
 > Hawk helicopters from the U.S. Customs Service had identified it as a 
 > Cessna. 
 > Authorities have not said how low the plane was flying, but aviation 
 > experts said it was likely the Cessna was flying between 3,000 and 
 > 7,000 feet. 
 > Washington is surrounded by layers of restricted flight zones, put in 
 > place since the Sept. 11 attacks. The inner layer is a 15-mile ring 
 > around the White House in which the only non-governmental flights 
 > allowed are commercial aircraft to or from Reagan National Airport. 
 > 
 > Vice President Dick Cheney was at the White House and was moved to a 
 > secure location. First lady Laura Bush and former first lady Nancy 
 > Rea- gan, who was visiting, also were moved to secure quarters. 
 > 
 > At least one member of Congress criticized the response. Rep. Bennie 
 > Thompson (D-Miss.) said, "We were all still running around, in 
 > circles, trying to figure out where to go." 
 > 
 > Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) disagreed, saying, "Everyone seemed to 
 > know where to go." 
 > 
 > How it happened 
 > 
 > (1) 11:28 a.m. - 21 miles north of D.C. 
 > 
 > FAA picks up Cessna C-152 on radar. It is 17 minutes form Washington 
 > D.C. 
 > (2) 11:55 a.m. 
 > 
 > Black Hawk helicopters take off from Reagan National Airport to 
 > intercept. 
 > (3) 12:00-12:11 p.m. 
 > 
 > Two F-16 fighters scramble from Andrews Air Force Base, fire four 
 > warning flares into Cessna's path. 
 > 
 > (4) Alert status raised to red at 12:03 p.m. after Cessna reaches 
 > 3-mile mark from White House. Alert status lowered to yellow after 
 > Cessna is diverted at 12:11 p.m. 
 > 
 > (5) 12:37 p.m. 
 > 
 > Cessna is escorted to nearby airport, where its two occupants are 
 > detained 
 > No-fly zone 15 miles from White House* 
 > 
 > Except commercial aircraft to Reagan National Airport 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)