The White House says a small private jet entered restricted airspace near President Joe Biden’s vacation home in Delaware on Saturday, leading to a brief evacuation of the president and first lady.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. “A small private jet mistakenly entered a confined space near President Joe Biden’s vacation home in Delaware on Saturday, prompting a brief evacuation of the president and first lady,” the White House and Secret Service said.
The White House said there was no threat to Biden or his family and that precautions had been taken. After the situation was assessed, Biden and his wife Jill returned to their home in Rehoboth Beach.
Secret services said in a statement that the plane was immediately escorted out of limited airspace after “mistakenly entering a protected area”. The agency said it would interview the pilot, who according to the preliminary investigation was not on the right radio channel and did not follow the published flight guidelines.
As is standard practice for presidential trips outside of Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration announced flight restrictions earlier this week before Biden’s visit to the beach town. Restrictions include a no-fly zone with a radius of 10 miles, with a limited 30-mile zone.
A CBS News reporter said on Twitter that he had seen Biden drive to the Rehoboth Beach fire station. The group of reporters traveling with the president was not part of the motorcade.
Federal regulations require pilots to check for restrictions on flights on their route before take-off. However, occasional airspace disturbances, especially around temporary restricted areas, are common.
U.S. military planes and Coast Guard helicopters are often used to intercept any aircraft that violates flight restrictions around the president. The intercepted planes are diverted to a nearby airport, where flight crews are interviewed by law enforcement and face potential criminal or civil penalties.
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