The Associated Press Published Saturday, June 4, 2022 2:44 PM EDT Last Updated on Saturday, June 4, 2022 7:33 PM EDT
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) – A small private jet crashed into a restricted airspace near President Joe Biden’s vacation home in Delaware on Saturday, prompting the brief evacuation of the president and first lady, the House said. Blanca and the Secret Service.
The White House said there were no threats to Biden or his family and that precautions were taken. After assessing the situation, Biden and his wife, Jill, returned home to Rehoboth Beach.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the plane was escorted immediately from the restricted airspace after “mistakenly entering a safe area”. The agency said it would interview the pilot who, according to a preliminary investigation, was not on the proper radio channel and was not following the published flight instructions.
As is common practice for presidential trips outside of Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration issued flight restrictions earlier this week ahead of Biden’s visit to the beach town. Restrictions include a 10-mile flight exclusion zone contained with a 30-mile restricted zone.
A CBS News reporter told Twitter that he saw Biden walking toward a Rehoboth Beach fire station. The group of journalists traveling with the president was not part of the caravan.
Federal regulations require pilots to check flight restrictions along their route before taking off. However, accidental airspace violations, especially around temporary restricted areas, are common.
U.S. military aircraft and Coast Guard helicopters are often used to intercept any aircraft that violate flight restrictions around the president. The intercepted planes are diverted to a nearby airfield where law enforcement is interviewing air crews and facing possible criminal or civil sanctions.