Capitol building in Washington after a frantic evacuation Wednesday, May 11, when a small plane violated the restricted airspace around the capital, American media reported. The evacuation was ordered after aviation officials detected a small aircraft in the no-fly zone around the city, the Washington based Voice of America (VOA) and MSNBC network said.
VOA quoted US officials as saying that the plane "did not pose a threat". President Bush was reportedly not on the White House grounds at the time the evacuation was ordered.
Television footage earlier showed people running from the building, after one officer shouted
"You’ve got one minute," to a group, including NBC Correspondent Chip Reid, MSNBC said on
its website. A few minutes later, officials reportedly gave the "all clear" signal.
However VOA said military jets were reportedly scrambled over the area of Washington. As the jets flew over Washington, officers also rushed through the Supreme Court building and told staff to get into the basement, MSNBC reported. At the Treasury Department, people were reportedly moved across the street.
TAKEN IN CUSTODY
Initial reports said a Cessna aircraft had entered the restricted airspace, then turned away but
returned back. It was not clear whether the aircraft inadvertently entered the restricted area, but such incidents have happened before, MSNBC said. Two men in the aircraft, which relatives and friends said was on its way to a North Carolina air show, were later taken into custody and interviewed by authorities at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort, Reuters news agency reported.
The plane was reportedly registered to Vintage Aero Club, a group of people who fly from Smoketown Airport in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, said club member Merv King. Former club member John E. Henderson said the plane was scheduled to be flown by Jim Sheaffer of Lititz, Pa., and student pilot Troy Martin, of Akron, Pa. to an air show in Lumberton, N.C.
Martin’s wife, Jill, said the two men left late Wednesday morning for Lumberton. "Troy was discussing with me last night after they made their flight plans all about the no-fly zones and how they were going to avoid them. He said they were going to fly between two different restricted areas," Reuters quoted her as saying.
EARLIER EVACUATION
Two weeks ago, an evacuation was reportedly ordered when a radar hit suggested a plane had entered the area. The hit turned out to be clouds, news reports said. It comes however at a time when the United States is already on high alert following the September 11 attacks in 2001 and a more recent incident involving the president.
Wednesday’s reported breach of airspace came just as American and Georgian security officers began investigating how an unarmed grenade came to be found near the site where President George W. Bush delivered an address before a packed crowd on Tbilisi’s Freedom Square in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
A top Georgian security official has confirmed reports of a grenade being found within 30 meters of the podium from which Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili addressed the crowd. (With BosNewsLife Research, reports from the United States, Georgia and Stefan J. Bos)
