REHOBOTH BEACH (Del. — A small private airplane mistakenly entered restricted airspace near President Joe Biden’s Delaware vacation home Saturday, prompting the brief evacuation of the president and first lady, the White House and the Secret Service said.
According to the White House, there were no threats to Biden and his family. Therefore precautionary steps were taken. Biden and Jill returned home to Rehoboth Beach after the situation had been assessed.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the plane was immediately escorted from the restricted airspace after “mistakenly entering a secured 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 published flight guidance.
As is standard practice for presidential trips outside Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration published flight restrictions earlier this week before Biden’s beach town visit. There is a 30 mile restricted zone and a no fly zone that covers a radius of 10 miles.
A CBS News reporter said on TwitterBiden had been seen driving to Rehoboth Beach from his home, he said. It was not the president’s motorcade that included the reporters who traveled with him.
Federal regulations mandate that pilots check the flight restrictions on their routes before taking off. However, accidents are quite common around temporarily restricted areas.
U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and military jets can often be used to intercept planes violating the presidential flight restrictions. The planes that are intercepted by the U.S. military are flown to nearby airfields where law enforcement interviews them and may face criminal or civil sanctions.
Read More From Time
