Capitol Building and White House Evacuated

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5:28pm (UK)
Capitol Building and White House Evacuated

"PA"

The US Capitol building and White House were evacuated today after a small plane entered the restricted airspace over Washington.

War planes were seen flying overhead and security cars rushed away from the buildings.

A senior law enforcement official said the alarm was caused by an aircraft intruding into the protected airspace over Washington. Workers were allowed to return to the buildings within minutes of the false alarm being realised.

Sarah Little, an aide to Sen Pat Roberts, said the order to evacuate came over the special pager devices that every congressional office has.

“They said to head South because there is an imminent aircraft threat,” Little said.

Reporters in the White House were told to move to a more secure location.

President George Bush was not at the White House at the time.

A guard in the West Wing of the White House shouted at reporters, “Go down into the basement.”

“Leave, run,” security officers shouted to staff and reporters at the Capitol building.

“This is not a drill,” guards shouted as they moved people away from the building.

Shortly after noon (1700BST), officers rushed through the Supreme Court building and told staff to get into the basement. At the Treasury Department, people were moved across the street.

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White House, Capitol evacuated after plane enters airspace
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol and White House were briefly evacuated today after a small plane entered restricted airspace over the city.
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Security officials in several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court, ordered people to safer locations.

President Bush was away from the White House, biking at a Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Md. Congressional leaders were moved from the Capitol.

A small Cessna aircraft breached the security zone over Washington, several law enforcement officials said, prompting alerts across the city. The plane was approached by a fighter aircraft and veered away, according to a Federal Aviation Administration official speaking on condition of anonymity.

But in the meantime, armed security officers raced through the Capitol shouting for people to leave. "This is not a drill," guards shouted as they moved people away from the building.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., was on the Senate floor when police told him they needed to evacuate. "They said get out of here, so I ran. There's no joking about this kind of stuff," Shelby said.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert was on the House floor talking to members when the evacuation siren went off. He left quickly with his security detail.

Two large black armored SUVs often used by House and Senate leaders sped away from the Capitol as a military jet flew overhead.

"People were surprised. I was surprised," said Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who was on the House floor when the evacuation began. "There was so much commotion in the gallery. People were yelling in the gallery. We thought something had happened in the gallery, and then the alarm came to evacuate."

Sarah Little, an aide to Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. said the order to evacuate came over the special pager devices that every congressional office has. "They said ... there is an imminent aircraft threat," she said.

The incident sparked a flurry of emergency activity throughout the capital, which was targeted on Sept. 11, 2001 and has been under a heightened state of alert since then.

Washington's Reagan National Airport has been closed to general aviation since the Sept. 11 attacks. In the 3 1/2 years since then, hundreds of small planes have flown within the restricted airspace around the capital — a 15 3/4 -mile radius around the Washington Monument.

However, it's rare for fighter jets to be scrambled.

In the most dramatic incident since the Sept. 11 attacks, thousands of people fled the Capitol, packed with members of Congress and other dignitaries, when a plane flew into the restricted air space just before the funeral procession for President Ronald Reagan last June.

A communications breakdown led federal officials to believe the plane might be targeting the Capitol, but it turned out to be carrying Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who had been cleared to fly into the area.

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I hear they were all running for cover.

Cowards!

Assuming it was some poor shmuck who drifted off course, wouldn't you hate to be him? A squadron of F-16's arrive and force you to the ground.... the FBI and dozens of armed police & SWAT teams waiting to greet you.... "Uh, Harold.... this doesn't look like Bethesda"... "Quiet Maude, and get your hands in the air".....

On "Have I Got News For You" (BBC2, satirical current affairs programme) the other day they said that Bush was taken into safety after a big cloud approached the White House, which sensors had mistaken to be an aircraft.

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Originally Posted by King Malcolm

On "Have I Got News For You" (BBC2, satirical current affairs programme) the other day they said that Bush was taken into safety after a big cloud approached the White House, which sensors had mistaken to be an aircraft.

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lol, thats funny ~D

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

Assuming it was some poor shmuck who drifted off course, wouldn't you hate to be him? A squadron of F-16's arrive and force you to the ground.... the FBI and dozens of armed police & SWAT teams waiting to greet you.... "Uh, Harold.... this doesn't look like Bethesda"... "Quiet Maude, and get your hands in the air".....

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Great movie reference! You get a beer! ~:cheers:

Pretty funny. Another example of the infallible communications systems used by the government and Homeland Security.

If they had shot him down, I wonder how it would have been done?

Sidewinders off the F-16? 20mm Vulcan from the same, or an M60 out the door of the Blackhack?

I wonder what their protocol is for weapons use over a populated area like that.

Well, just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they are not after you......

the whole time W was riding his bike, OMG.

Somebody high up recognized this wasn't a real threat, but it keeps the prols on edge so lets evacuate

LOL

ichi :bow:

I would bet a sidewinder, the 20mm or M-60 would both have a greater chance of leaving a lot of large and very dangerous debris. While the missile would aliminate large debris and hopeuflly limit the amount of damage to a small amount of damage over a larger area.

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Originally Posted by ichi

the whole time W was riding his bike, OMG.

Somebody high up recognized this wasn't a real threat, but it keeps the prols on edge so lets evacuate

LOL

ichi :bow:

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I got the impresion he was off the site, so they let him keep doing whatever he wants.

Our tough, "bring 'em on!" government in all their glory.

It's no wonder terrorism is on the rise. They've got the US government shaking in their boots.

You're absolutely right Tachi. The next time an unindentified aircraft enters DC's airspace and refuses to answer repeated hails, Cheney should go out on the front porch and while daring them to do it, stick his chin out and tap it with his finger, like a real man. ~:dizzy2: Because of course beyond being cowards, the government officials in the white house & congress are also mind readers and they knew there was no danger.

Give me a freakin break. If they hadn't evacuated, you'd be here bitching even louder about how reckless it was they didn't leave. It seems like that's all you can do these days, don't see any suggestions coming from you or your camp.

your damned if you do, damned if you don't

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

Cheney should go out on the front porch and while daring them to do it, stick his chin out and tap it with his finger, like a real man.

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Essentially, that's what they're commanding soldiers in Iraq to do. They constantly put young American men and women in harm's way, but cower in bunkers at that slightest "booh!"

The phantom of terrorism has the US so on edge, it almost hilarious.

No, if they had remained at their posts, I wouldn't have accused them of being reckless. They wouldn't have been putting anyone at risk but themselves, well at least what they consider at risk.

That itsy-bitsy Cessna wouldn't have done huge damage as an aerial bomb, even fully-fueled. Seems it's biggest threat would be spraying bad stuff in the air - in which case staying indoors (and getting people off the street) would seem a more appropriate response.

Re: shooting it down; one fighter pilot said he was 2 steps away in his permission protocol to do so. I assume said pilot & his superiors would consider where that wreckage would fall to earth.

What if it was loaded with exploses live C4?

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Originally Posted by Don Corleone

What if it was loaded with exploses live C4?

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Hmmm, maybe. Is C4 obtainable in quantity?

Cessna 150 can carry up to 500 lbs. 26 gallons of fuel (x 6 lbs per gal) is 156 lbs. A single skinny 150 lb badguy to fly it leaves about 150 lbs of payload remaining. That much C4 would probably pack quite a punch.

I think the Anarchist's cookbook teaches you how to make C-4 or a similar plastic explosive. It would certainly pack quite a punch, but the unloaded Cessna probably wouldn't even penetrate the White House walls. It is a very heavily reinforced building.

Is that an African or European unladen Cessana you're talking about UK? ~D

Wot? I don't know that! AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH

I think they come in only one size..... Small.