Posted on 05/11/2005 9:06:58 AM PDT by pitinkie
Capital and WH being evacuated.."full running evac"
For some reason it is not bothering me. Like I said, this plane landed closer to my house then it got to the White House.
My office is right beside 270 (the highway that goes North from Washington - the President's helicopters follow this road going to Camp David - the road also goes to Frederick. Anyway - as I was typing this I heard the sound of loud helicopters flying low and I looked out to see two large (black, or at least they looked that way from my angle) helicopters flying by at about treetop level that looked to be the size of the ones the President uses except they had large tank looking things where the skids are located - I see a lot of helicopters from my office but I have never seen one's like that. I heard Blackhawks were sent out but these did not have the guns hanging off the sides - just those big tank looking things.
Sometimes it is fun to live the the capital of the free world.
An F-16 fighter jet, fully armed with air-to-air missiles under its wings, maneuvers above the northwest section of Washington D.C., Wednesday, May 11, 2005, near a cluster of embassies from Middle Eastern nations as it and at least one other F-16 scrambled to intercept a small airplane that flew into the restricted airspace that circles the nation's capital. The White House and the Capital were evacuated until the situation with the small plane was resolved. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By EILEEN PUTMAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace and came within three miles of the executive mansion. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares.
Two men in the aircraft were later taken into custody at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort, said Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer.
"This appears to be errant pilots," he said. He said officials were concerned because the plane appeared to be "on a straight-in shot toward the center of the Washington area."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the plane came within three miles of the White House. President Bush was not there at the time.
Security officials in several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court, ordered people to safer locations.
Bush was biking at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Md., McClellan said. Vice President Dick Cheney, in the White House, was moved to a "secure location" elsewhere, McClellan said.
First lady Laura Bush and former first lady Nancy Reagan, who is staying at the White House for a special event at the Reagan building, were moved to a secure location.
Congressional leaders were hustled from the Capitol by armed officers. The threat level at the White House was raised to red the highest for eight minutes.
The incident began at 11:28 a.m., when Federal Aviation Administration radar picked up the aircraft, a small two-seater Cessna 150 with high wings. The aircraft breached the security zone over Washington, prompting alerts across the city.
Gainer said the first alert went out when the plane was 21 miles 17 minutes from the city.
Two Black Hawk helicopters were dispatched at 11:55 a.m. from Reagan National Airport, according to an FAA official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The plane was also approached by two F-16 fighter aircraft, scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base. They fired four warning flares. The military aircraft escorted the plane to the Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, Md.
The two unidentified men were being held by Maryland state police at the airport in Frederick. Secret Service and other law enforcement authorities interviewed the pilot, McClellan said.
The plane was registered to Vintage Aero Club, a group of about 10 people who fly from Smoketown Airport in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, said club member Merv King. He said he did not know who was flying it Wednesday but provided police a list of club members.
"It was not on our scheduled booking, so I have no clue," said King.
The incident sparked a flurry of emergency activity throughout the capital, which was targeted on Sept. 11, 2001 and has been under a heightened state of alert since then.
Armed security officers raced through the Capitol shouting for people to leave. "This is not a drill," guards shouted as they moved people away from the building.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., was on the Senate floor when police told him they needed to evacuate. "They said get out of here, so I ran. There's no joking about this kind of stuff," Shelby said.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert was on the House floor talking to members when the evacuation siren went off. He left quickly with his security detail.
Large black armored SUVs often used by House and Senate leaders sped away from the Capitol as a military jet flew overhead.
"People were surprised. I was surprised," said Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who was on the House floor when the evacuation began. "There was so much commotion in the gallery. People were yelling in the gallery. We thought something had happened in the gallery, and then the alarm came to evacuate."
Sarah Little, an aide to Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. said the order to evacuate came over the special pager devices that every congressional office has. "They said ... there is an imminent aircraft threat," she said.
Washington's Reagan National Airport has been closed to general aviation since the Sept. 11 attacks. In the 3 1/2 years since then, hundreds of small planes have flown within the restricted airspace around the capital a 15 3/4-mile radius around the Washington Monument.
However, it's rare for fighter jets to be scrambled.
In the most dramatic incident since the Sept. 11 attacks, thousands of people fled the Capitol, packed with members of Congress and other dignitaries, when a plane flew into the restricted air space just before the funeral procession for President Ronald Reagan last June.
A communications breakdown led federal officials to believe the plane might be targeting the Capitol, but it turned out to be carrying Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who had been cleared to fly into the area.
In this image made from video, A two-seater Cessna 150 sits on the runway at Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, Md. Wednesday, May 11, 2005. The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after the plane entered restricted airspace. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares. Two men in the aircraft were later taken into custody at the Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort. (AP Photo/WTTG)
In this image made from video, a man is led away in handcuffs after the Cessna 150 he was in was forced to land at Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, Md. Wednesday, May 11, 2005. The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after the plane entered restricted airspace. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares. Two men in the aircraft were later taken into custody at the Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort. (AP Photo/WTTG)
Indeed.
Watched Scott McClellan's (sp) news briefing on the incident, and I swear to God, the friggin' reporters made it all about them. "Why didn't the press corps get enough warning?", she kept screaming to him! Blah, blah, blah blah blah! Again, damned if you do and damned if you don't!
They should have stuck all of the news correspondents, save the Foxnews guys and gals, outside to tell everyone else inside what was going on. If they were to become casualties, oh well!
Mistakes happen, but flying towards the White House just seems to me to be one of those mistakes a pilot should never make. Kind of like running out of gas.
so it either wasn't turned on, a flight plan wasn't filed and it wasn't turned on, it was left in standby or they didn't have one altogether? Talk about not staying ahead of the a/c !
landing to the south means the winds are out of the south. Nobody lands downwide except unaware helo drivers
amen!
landing is the key, whadatheysay? Take-off's are optional, landing is mandatory? Your comment about which side of the Potomac to fly on made me chuckle! :)~
I abuse my feet. They are horrible and it's from the high heels. I will be cripple by 50 for sure. I remember in my 20's I would go from morning to night in 3-1/2" inch heels. Now I can't wait to get home and get them the hell off, they are only 2" heels. As I age they get lower and lower. Oh well it could be worse :)
Yep, it gets worse. A one inch heel is high to me....And there was a time I could dance all night in 3 inch heels. Sigh.
updated story with Vitter's comments.
http://www.ksla.com/global/story.asp?s=3330355&ClientType=Printable
"There's still a lot of confusion about where to evacuate and exactly what's going on," Senator Landrieu told KSLA NEWS 12 during a phone interview conducted while the Senator was still standing outside the complex, just minutes after evacuating. "It's disconcerting that we often get more information from relatives who are watching CNN and calling us than we do from personnel here," the Senator said. "We're supposed to have a meeting point but that place was arbitrarily changed this morning."
U.S. Senator David Vitter, (R) Louisiana, said the pre-determined meeting place was changed because of the nature of the threat. "You don't stick to a designated meeting place if you have information that it would be safer to keep moving," Vitter said. "I thought, considering the threat, things went very smoothly."
Landrieu said she had just left the Senate floor and was having lunch with constituents inside the Dirksen building (part of the capitol complex) when they were ordered to leave. "Some people were told to run for their lives," Landrieu said. "We still have a lot of work to do when it comes to the evacuation of this capitol complex." "There's a lot to be desired," the Senator said.
Vitter says he was on a phone call inside the Hart Senate Office Building when he and staffers were ordered to evacuate. "We went from my office to around Union Station about six blocks away," Vitter said. "We got very clear directions from the Capitol police."
Yes they put him in the front seat. I am not sure if there was anyone already in the back seat of the cop car. I found it odd. He was handcuffed and the cop cleaned off the front seat and help the man into the front seat and then seat belted him in and shut the front passengers door.
And, your comment would have been the same if this was a major hit?
Why is it there are always so many naysayers after an alert, after a false alarm?
Almost like you are conditioning a no-response action in the future.
Sure glad you were not in charge when the action had to be taken to prevent the death of many. You would have been too busy discounting the threat and not protecting the people depending on you.
No - I am just saying that there are a lot of people within the forum that jump WAY too quick on the worst case scenerio. Rarely is anything the worst case scenerio.
It is the same about naming who murdered those little girls. People were convicting the neighbor boy.
Just too many people jumping to conclusions before the facts are all in.
I am disturbed by this report that the terror alert level was raised for NO reason? Have others seen this report?
I get tired of hearing people call Americans "scared" 24/7. There is some merit in what they say. I don't think we need to be scared as much as we need to be "alert" to what is going on.
It's what I heard from MessNBC, a reporter saying something about possible enemy aircraft--I was typing here trying to get what they were saying but it sounded like an MSNBC reporter was saying there was a possibility of it.
Duh, my bad.
I heard Chris Shays is still hiding under his desk. Can anyone confirm. (remembering how Shays said he wouldn't come to Washington during one of the elevated alerts).
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