The White House on Tuesday was briefly put on lockdown, as fighter jets were scrambled in Washington following an airspace violation, law enforcement officials told NBC News.
The lockdown was lifted less than 30 minutes after it was first reported by White House reporters.
"The White House was locked down this morning due to a potential violation of the restricted airspace in the National Capital Region," a Secret Service spokesman told CNBC in a statement. "The lockdown has been lifted at this time."
A small aircraft violated airspace rules in a restricted area, officials told the Associated Press. The North American Aerospace Defense Command said the plane was not considered hostile.
NBC also reported that a security alert was raised at the Capitol building.
U.S. Capitol Police confirmedthat access to the Capitol Complex buildings was halted "for a short time." The situation was cleared at 9:12 a.m., Capitol Police said, about 45 minutes after the aircraft was first reported in the restricted airspace.
The White House referred CNBC to the Secret Service.
m636 on November 26th, 2019 at 15:43 UTC »
I operate into/out of DCA (Reagan National) routinely and the way the airport is situated, it almost butts up against what is known as P-56 or 'Prohibited Area 56". That covers the National Mall/White house/Capital Hill area from the surface up to 18,000ft. No one is allowed to operate within that area, (Except Military and special use aircraft with strict background checks) so we are required to make an immediate left hand turn up the river when departing northbound. We have about a 1 mile window to make the turn so it keeps us clear. Violating that airspace is a very big deal, and I've known guys who have had to deal with potential FAA action because they busted the airspace.
Theres quite a bit of misinformation already in this thread. Airspace in the DC area is an absolute mess, and post 9/11 a 'Temporary Restriction' was created that still exists to this day. There are many pilots who fly around 'VFR' only which is sort of the equivalent of you just getting into your car and driving around. Just because you go flying doesn't mean you need to talk to ATC or have a flight plan or tell anyone. This is allowed almost everywhere EXCEPT in areas with flight restrictions over them, such as the DC area.
What happens though is some guys don't pay attention and then start wandering towards restricted/prohibited airspace. Once ATC sees a target moving in that direction, a radio call over a special frequency is sent out numerous times by both ATC and Air Force radio controllers warning the aircraft that their path is tracking towards restricted airspace and to immediately turn around. If the target doesn't respond then obviously action will be taken and fighters launch like they did today.
What I assume happened is some VFR guy took off from miles away and started wandering/tracking towards the Capital airspace, didn't respond and was probably met with a few fighters off his wing. The special use airspace extends up to about 30 miles away, so I doubt this guy even got close before he was intercepted.
K3R3G3 on November 26th, 2019 at 15:36 UTC »
Am I having a stroke?
UnbuiltIkeaBookcase on November 26th, 2019 at 14:10 UTC »
When was the last time there was an airspace violation near the White House or Capitol?