There's a block of restricted airspace over the National Mall and the White House (I think it's called "P-56" on the charts) that's a strict no-fly zone from the ground up to 18,000 feet. That is what this dweeb no doubt entered.
The reason I mentioned Reagan National is that this zone is two or three north of the main runway at DCA. When planes take off northbound from DCA, they have to make a hard left and follow the river northwest to clear the space; likewise, when they land south, they have to make an approach down the river then turn right at the last second to line up with the runway. I figured that maybe some airliner pilot let his concentration slip and drifted left into the restricted airspace.
But from what we're hearing here, it sounds like it was a private pilot with a massive recto-cranial inversion...how do you NOT fly around Washington and not know that there are some places that you Just Don't Go?
Right now, I expect he's landed at Andrews AFB, and scared out of his mother-loving mind. I hope he enjoys his flight, it might be the last time he ever sits in the left seat of an airplane.
}:-)4
Im sorry, but I think this was an over-reaction. A small cessna is no more of a threat than a U-Haul. Where it is a greater threat (NBC attack), evacuating buildings and running around outside is pointless, and perhaps a more dangerous place to be.