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Originally Posted by The Reaper
Aircraft violation of the secure area.
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http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/11/evacuation/index.html
U.S. Capitol, White House briefly evacuated
FAA tracks unidentified aircraft
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Posted: 1:05 PM EDT (1705 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An apparent airspace violation over Washington on Wednesday prompted evacuations of the White House and U.S. Capitol as fighter jets scrambled to intercept an unidentified aircraft.
President Bush was not at the White House at the time. Vice President Dick Cheney was in the West Wing of the building when the alert was issued and was moved to a secure location, a senior administration official said.
An all-clear announcement was issued about 15 minutes after the alert.
People streamed out of the White House after being told to evacuate.
"Run, this is no joke, leave the grounds," a U.S. Secret Service agent told CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it had tracked an unidentified aircraft, a high-wing Cessna, that apparently violated airspace over the White House.
Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw said he saw two F-16 jets circle a single-engine airplane and fire warning flares. The jets, which scrambled from nearby Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, then seemed to direct the small aircraft away from downtown Washington, Shaw said.
A Black Hawk helicopter joined the F-16s to escort the plane to a landing site.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, told The Associated Press he was on the Senate floor when police told him to evacuate. "They said, 'Get out of here.' So I ran. There's no joking about this kind of stuff," Shelby said.
On the House floor, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, said, "There was so much commotion in the gallery," AP reported. "People were yelling in the gallery. We thought something had happened in the gallery, and then the alarm came to evacuate."
Federal authorities said the aircraft was being forced to land near Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, at which time the pilot was to be questioned.
Malveaux said a motorcade of six or seven cars left the White House during the evacuation. The motorcade returned about 15 minutes later.
At the time of the incident, Bush was on a bike ride with a security detail in Maryland, officials said.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Joe Johns said members of the Senate were evacuated from the Senate floor while it was in session.
The Secret Service gave the all-clear at the White House minutes after the incident, and allowed journalists to return to the executive mansion.
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