Joe Biden, first lady evacuated from vacation home after 'unrecognized' plane enters airspace
Highlights
- A private plane mistakenly entered US Prez Joe Biden's vacation home airspace.
- Shortly after, he was evacuated along with first lady Jill Biden.
- The brief evacuation was a precautionary measure.
US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were evacuated from their vacation home in Delaware after a private plane entered its airspace. Reports later revealed that the small plane had mistakenly entered the airspace on Saturday, the White House and the Secret Service said. There was no threat to Biden or his family and precautionary measures were taken.
After the situation was assessed, Biden and his wife, Jill, returned to their Rehoboth Beach home. The Secret Service said in a statement that the plane was immediately escorted from the restricted airspace after “mistakenly entering a secured area.”
The pilot of the plane will be interrogated. According to a preliminary investigation, he was not on the proper radio channel and was not following published flight guidance.
Flight restrictions imposed earlier this week
As is standard practice for presidential trips outside Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration published flight restrictions earlier this week before Biden’s beach town visit. The restrictions include a 10-mile radius no-fly zone contained with a 30-mile restricted zone.
A CBS News reporter said on Twitter that he saw Biden motorcade to a Rehoboth Beach fire station. The group of reporters that traveled with the president was not part of the motorcade.
Federal regulations require pilots to check for flight restrictions along their route before taking off. Still, accidental airspace breaches, particularly around temporarily restricted zones, are common.
U.S. military jets and Coast Guard helicopters are often used to intercept any planes that violate the flight restrictions around the president. Intercepted planes are diverted to a nearby airfield where aircrews are interviewed by law enforcement and face potential criminal or civil penalties.
(With AP Inputs)
