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<DIV><STRONG>US Fighters Arrived Too Late to Guard White
House</STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV>Last Updated: <SPAN class=timeStamp>June 20, 2002 04:22 PM
ET</SPAN></DIV>
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class=newsContent>By Charles Aldinger</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN
class=newsContent>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Air National Guard fighter
jets were scrambled into the air too late from nearby Andrews Air Force
Base on Wednesday night to protect the White House from a small plane that
wandered into restricted airspace over Washington, U.S. officials said on
Thursday.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>The officials told
Reuters that two F-16 fighters took off 11 minutes after ordered -- well
within the 15-minute time period allowed to respond to emergencies -- but
did not reach the scene until the small plane had flown into and out of a
"prohibited area" within 5 miles of the presidential mansion.</SPAN>
<BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>The White House was evacuated for 15
minutes when the Cessna aircraft flew into the restricted airspace by
accident, but President Bush was never in danger, officials said.</SPAN>
<BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>The small plane entered restricted
airspace at 7:59 p.m. EDT and flew out at 8:13 p.m. The jets did not take
off from Andrews until 8:17 p.m., according to the officials, who asked
not to be identified.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>"This
illustrates just how hard it is to do this kind of thing, especially in a
busy air traffic area," said one of the officials.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN
class=newsContent>The Federal Aviation Administration, the military and
other agencies have set up tightly restricted non-flight zones over parts
of Washington, New York and other areas of the country after the Sept. 11
attacks in which hijackers crashed airliners into buildings, killing more
than 3,000 people.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>FAA spokesman
Bill Shumann said on Thursday that the agency was investigating the
incident as a "pilot deviation." Depending on the seriousness of the
violation, the result could be anything from no action to a reprimand
letter or even a license suspension or revocation, he said.</SPAN>
<BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>Here is a timeline of Wednesday's incident
provided to Reuters by U.S. officials:</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN
class=newsContent>7:59 p.m. EDT: The single-engine private aircraft enters
a 15-mile zone of temporary flight restricted (TFR) airspace around the
Washington Monument.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>8:03 p.m.: The
FAA notifies the joint North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
based in Colorado that the wider air zone has been violated.</SPAN>
<BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>8:06 p.m.: NORAD orders F-16s to take off
from Andrews as the Cessna flies into an even more tightly restricted
"prohibited area" only 5 miles from the White House.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN
class=newsContent>8:13 p.m.: The Cessna flies out of the 15-mile TFR
zone.</SPAN> <BR><BR><SPAN class=newsContent>8:17 p.m.: The F-16s take off
from Andrews, later catch up with the Cessna near Fredericksburg,
Virginia, south of Washington, and escort it to a landing at Richmond,
Virginia.</SPAN> <BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>