Breaking NEWS - Capitol evacuated 6/29

[MSmith]

Capitol evacuated 6/29

CNN just went into Breaking News on an evacuation of the Capitol in DC - apparently due to an incursion.

 

[MSmith]

FOX News reports sirens sounding. All clear given at White House.

 

[SkyHog]

gotta be a good sign - CNN didn't even bother covering it. Maybe the public will accept the fact that these are unfounded fears?

 

[MSmith]

CNN - reports of it being called off. C-SPAN2 says All Clear sounded, Senate should be resuming shortly.

 

[MSmith]

CNN - Homeland Security says it was an airplane in the restricted airspace 10-15 minutes ago. Plane is leaving zone and is being tracked. This was apparently the third one TODAY.

 

[MSmith]

FOX News - KingAir 350 - F-16 aircraft intercepted, escorting it to Winchester Regional.

 

[AirBaker]

Can you imagine sirens going off telling you to run? I think after a certain point I'd stop listening to such warnings.

 

[MSmith]

CNN - Military sources say same situation as last time. KingAir twin was 7-8 NM from Reagan National Airport going toward White House squawking 1200. No communication, so evacuated.

Plane has landed at Winchester Regional Airport in VA.

 

[Richard]

Can you imagine sirens going off telling you to run? I think after a certain point I'd stop listening to such warnings.

That's just what they did in Hilo, 1964. But that was a real threat.

 

[terzap]

Can you imagine sirens going off telling you to run? I think after a certain point I'd stop listening to such warnings.

Today 05:52 PM

Yeah...we sorta felt like that when we had atomic bomb drills back in grade school.

terry

 

[poadeleted3]

King Air, huh? Hope it was a Congressman.

 

[Richard]

I know nothing 'about the sirens, the evac, etc. A King Air, eh? Good, hopefully it's a 135 flight and not some ignorant moron out for a pleasure flight. My point is it's easy to dismiss the rich guy in his plane but not so easy when it's a business.

 

[AdamZ]

King Air, huh? Hope it was a Congressman.

Joe I can't tell you how much I hope your right. That would be so sweet. Please oh please let it be true!

 

[ggroves]

CNN - Military sources say same situation as last time. KingAir twin was 7-8 NM from Reagan National Airport going toward White House squawking 1200. No communication, so evacuated.

Plane has landed at Winchester Regional Airport in VA.

A little excitement in the neighborhood last night. I wasn't instructing last night so I missed all of the action.....

Greg
KOKV

Plane Diverted to City Airport After Airspace Violation
2 Military Jets Escort Pilot Trying to Avoid Storm; White House, Capitol Building Briefly Evacuated


By Sarah A. Reid
The Winchester Star

A pilot whose plane veered into restricted airspace northeast of Reagan National Airport on Wednesday was allowed to finish his flight to Ohio after being escorted by military fighter jets to Winchester Regional Airport.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As a Homeland Security official talks on a phone, pilot Scott Murwin walks near the diverted plane (to his left).
(Photo by Scott Mason) [/font]



The pilot’s miscue over the Washington area prompted the relocation of President Bush and a brief evacuation of the White House and Capitol.

The White House briefly went to red alert — its highest security level, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The pilot — later identified as Scott Murwin of Athens, Ga. — was flying a King Air 350 twin-engine turboprop plane, according to Winchester Regional Airport Manager Serena R. “Renny” Manuel.

She said he was the only occupant of the aircraft. She did not know if Murwin was carrying any cargo.

“He was very, very cooperative,” Manuel said.

The plane took off from Wilmington, Del., headed toward Defiance, Ohio, according to CBS affiliate WGCL-TV in Atlanta.

Murwin changed course to avoid bad weather before entering the restricted airspace, officials said.

The plane had a star emblem, with the name “Bill” written underneath it.

Murwin, wearing a polo shirt, was seen speaking with law enforcement officials at the Winchester airport. An airport worker confirmed that he was the pilot.

Murwin’s wife, Debbie, later told The Associated Press that he was the pilot, and that he has been a longtime pilot for Standridge Color Corp., a plastics products company based in Social Circle, Ga.

“He was at the wrong altitude,” she said in a brief telephone interview from her home.

Two F-16 Fighting Falcons were dispatched from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to intercept the plane, according to The Associated Press.

The aircraft made contact eight miles from the nation’s capital and the King Air was directed to the Winchester airport, where it landed without incident.

A Department of Homeland Security jet could be seen from Gate 4 of the Winchester airport on Wednesday evening.

A Dodge truck with Department of Defense stickers but no license plates sat in the parking lot and two Frederick County Sheriff’s Office cruisers were inside the gated and locked airport.

Capitol Police and Secret Service officials were also on the ramp with Manuel.

Some plastic bags were placed on the ground near the two planes, which were parked near each other. It is not known whether the bags came from the Homeland Security jet or the King Air.

The plane belongs to Standridge Color Corp., according to registration records. The company’s headquarters is 50 miles east of Atlanta.

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After hearing about the incident from television reports, spectators gather at the airport fence to watch the activities.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](Photo by Scott Mason) [/font]



The plane was grounded on the opposite side of hangars holding Valley Aviation and AV-ED Flight School Inc.

Bill Boggs, manager of Valley Aviation, and flight instructor Meghan Fairbrother were inside the hangar when the plane was brought down.

They said they received a phone call about the incident from a friend and when they had walked outside, the plane had landed.

“Frankly, we thought it would be a lot more exciting,” Boggs said.

He and Fairbrother watched on television as another pilot was forced down in May after a Cessna 150 violated restricted airspace over Washington.

During that incident, they said they saw the pilots handcuffed after being diverted to Frederick, Md.

But when they poked their heads out the door to see what was happening on their own runway, officials were just talking to the pilot.

“It looked like a basic traffic stop,” Boggs said.

Boggs, also a pilot, said he can understand how a pilot could become disoriented in the complicated airspace surrounding Washington.

He pointed to an aviation map and explained the different levels of airspace and the clearance needed to fly in those areas.

In the least restricted of the restricted space, Air Defense Identification Zone, pilots are required to register flight plans before they take off and are given an identification number that identifies them to Air Traffic Control.

In the most restricted space, the Flight Restricted Zone, that encircles the capital, pilots must obtain clearance from the Secret Service and be issued a special code to fly.

Boggs said he is afraid, as a pilot, that incidents such as this will cause officials to widen the restricted airspace, which already hinders some flights for pilots who cannot fly in the most restricted areas.

When planes are forced down and people are evacuated, Boggs said it alarms people who often know little about the planes or the situations pilots face in the air. “I notice you can still drive a tractor-trailer truck through D.C., but people are scared of airplanes,” he said.

 

[Carol]

Can you imagine sirens going off telling you to run? I think after a certain point I'd stop listening to such warnings.

Yes. I lived in Jacksonville, FL, during the Cuban missile crisis. To this day I think of it when I hear an air raid siren.

 

[Bob Bement]

Didn't they use a U-haul truck in Oklahoma City? I think you can still rent a u-haul truck and it is not that difficult. When has a small general aviation plane been used in a bombing? Go figure.

 

[Anthony]

Hey, I know Bill Boggs. So does Ron L. He has a Tiger, is an active AYA member and is a CFI based at OKV. I agree with what he siad. At least he got them to print something reasonable. I like ht tractor-trailer statement.


"Boggs said he is afraid, as a pilot, that incidents such as this will cause officials to widen the restricted airspace, which already hinders some flights for pilots who cannot fly in the most restricted areas.

When planes are forced down and people are evacuated, Boggs said it alarms people who often know little about the planes or the situations pilots face in the air. “I notice you can still drive a tractor-trailer truck through D.C., but people are scared of airplanes,” he said."

 

[Ken Ibold]

Don't you remember, Bob, in the movie "Goldfinger" the bad guys used a fleet of Piper Cherokees (flown by women, no less) to spray the Army with sleeping gas so they could steal all the gold out of Ft. Knox.

Said women pilots also flew from the right seat, as I recall, no doubt so they could bound prettily out the door when the job was completed.

 

[Lance F]

Hey, I know the pilot. This plane flys out of my airport. It's a beautiful King Air 350 that lives in a hanger next to mine. As a matter of fact I have flown this airplane - 1.0 hours in my logbook from PDK to PFN!
Scott is a good, serious and attentive professional pilot. Can't imagine how this happened, but I'll find out. All I know so far is he was VFR and solo on a return trip from dropping off passengers

 

[rpadula]

“It looked like a basic traffic stop,” Boggs said.

Crap. I like to brag to people that we don't get pulled over


-Rich