I’ve been thinking about that book for the last two days. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, and I don’t remember the particulars.
But needless to say, as bad as it sounds, I’m in agreement with your last sentence.
The key is that a pilot kills his co-pilot in a transport aircraft at Vancouver, BC, flies to IAD, declares an emergency approaching the ILS and requests Andrews, and from there wide open it’s 30 seconds to the Capitol.