WHITE HOUSE AND CAPITOL EVACUATED: F-16s Fire Warning Shots at Unidentified Aircraft

Rush Limbaugh has just announced that Secret Service agents brandishing weapons have evacuated the White House with shouted orders to “run!” The Capitol too has been evacuated. F-16s have fired warning shots at an unidentified single-engine plane flying over Washington, DC. For further breaking news, see this thread at FreeRepublic.com.

UPDATE 12:21 PM: Secret Service declares all clear. A single-engine plane is under escort by two F-16s.

UPDATE 03:58 PM: News reports are beginning to flesh out the details of today’s alert.

The Associated Press notes that “two Black Hawk helicopters were dispatched at 11:55 am, from Reagan National Airport,” in order to intercept the two-seat, single-engine Cessna 150 aircraft which entered restricted airspace over Washington at 11:28 am.

A timeline of the incident released by White House press secretary Scott McClellan states that fighter jets were scrambled at noon, that the Cessna was flying straight toward the White House, “the pilot was not responding to efforts to communicate with the plane,” and that the threat level was raised to red when the plane was three miles from the White House.

According to AP, “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.” (via googlenews)

Two men, a student pilot and instructor, are under arrest.

by Richard Poe
May 11, 2005 12:18 PM ET

Cross-posted from MoonbatCentral.com 05.11.05