[JYO] Straying plane prompts White House alert

Straying plane prompts White House alert

From John King
CNN Senior White House Correspondent
Monday, November 10, 2003 Posted: 1:07 PM EST (1807 GMT)


President Bush and the first lady were not at the White House during Monday's 
alert. 


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Secret Service at the White House went on alert 
briefly Monday morning after an aircraft crossed into restricted airspace in 
what 
appeared to be an accidental violation. 

The aircraft -- listed in federal aviation records as a four-seat, 
single-engine, propeller-driven Mooney M20E -- was intercepted and ordered to 
land. 

After receiving word of an unauthorized aircraft in the restricted District 
of Columbia airspace, armed Secret Service officers began patrolling the White 
House grounds, some with rifles and other firearms drawn. 

Neither President Bush nor first lady Laura Bush were at the White House at 
the time, but Vice President Cheney was. 

At no point did the Secret Service activate an internal White House alert 
system, which is used to inform the staff of possible security breaches or 
attacks. 

Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the plane, and the pilot responded 
to instructions to change course. The pilot will be interviewed after landing, 
a Secret Service spokeswoman said. 

Another government source said the initial conclusion, based on the pilot's 
cooperation when contacted and intercepted, is that it was an inadvertent 
violation, as happens periodically. But in all such cases the pilots are 
interviewed by the Secret Service.

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