Posted on 07/01/2002 2:49:32 AM PDT by kcvl
WASHINGTON –– At least three small airplanes intruded into airspace over Camp David this weekend while President Bush was at the mountain retreat in Maryland, including one escorted to a nearby airport by fighter jets, the Secret Service said Sunday.
Spokesman Jim Mackin said Secret Service agents questioned the pilots of all three planes – one of them an ultralight – determined the intrusions were inadvertent and took no action against them beyond referring the cases to the Federal Aviation Administration for possible administrative action.
He said a fourth plane – also an ultralight – possibly was involved in a Saturday intrusion over Camp David, but that plane was not located after it left the area where it was being tracked.
In addition, Mackin said a small plane momentarily penetrated the very edge of restricted airspace around Washington on Sunday before veering back onto an approved course and continuing on its way.
Mackin estimated that at least a couple of dozen incidents have occurred around Camp David and Washington since Sept. 11, although most have gone unreported and have not resulted in fighter jets being scrambled.
One of the two weekend incidents that resulted in planes being scrambled involved an intrusion at Camp David at 9:50 a.m. Saturday, less than three hours after Bush had undergone a routine colon screening and was getting ready for a walk.
There was no indication of any threat to the president, nor whether he was aware of the intrusion.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the Beech A-23 aircraft was intercepted Saturday morning by F-16s at 4,500 feet about 15 miles from Frederick, Md., and escorted to the Winchester Regional Airport just south of Camp David in Virginia.
The pilot and passenger were questioned at the airport by Secret Service agents and allowed to continue on, FAA spokesman Hank Price said.
Winchester Regional Airport officials said the aircraft had entered deeply into the restricted airspace, either flying over or near Camp David. "We can't verify that," Price said.
Likewise, the Secret Service declined to say how close the plane came to the presidential compound in the Catoctin Mountains.
Price did not release the names of the pilot or passenger or their intended destination. He said he believed the pilot was using visual flight rules and drifted into the so-called P-40 restricted airspace.
Officials at the Winchester airport said the two F-16s that escorted the four-seater to their airfield created a stir in the city of 25,000 as they circled at 700 feet until the aircraft landed.
"There was a lot of concern when they saw the F-16s flying over Winchester. There were a lot of people calling about it," said Serena Manuel, executive director and manager of Winchester Regional Airport.
Manuel and David Foley, operations supervisor, said they believed the Beech A-23 had entered deeper into the restricted airspace than two other aircraft that had been directed to Winchester since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I don't know if he got right over," Foley said. "I think he knew he messed up pretty badly." He said he believed the pilot and passenger were en route from New York City to Las Vegas.
Manuel added that the pilot was thrown off course by cloud cover.
This is the second time in two weeks that a small aircraft was escorted into Virginia by F-16s.
On June 19, a pilot flew a single-engine Cessna into restricted airspace a few miles off the White House. He was escorted to Richmond International Airport and faces FAA sanctions, but was not charged with a crime.
Mackin said another single-engine Cessna flew into the restricted space around Camp David on Sunday morning, but no jets were scrambled and the plane landed in nearby Frederick, Md., where the pilot was questioned.
He said the plane involved in Saturday's incident did not respond to radio contact, prompting the scrambling of a fighter escort. He did not know whether the pilot of the plane in Sunday's incident responded to radio contact, perhaps explaining why no jets were scrambled to accompany it.
Jets were also scrambled in an incident Saturday afternoon that involved one, or possibly two, ultralights, said Mackin, but no planes were visible by the time the jets reached Camp David.
Authorities were tracking a ultralight over the restricted area and thought they followed it to the Carroll Valley airport in Pensylvania. However, when they questioned the pilot, it appeared he had not been the one on radar and that a second ultralight had been in the area and was not found.
Mackin said that matter remained under investigation.
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