F-16s scramble for Obama aircraft alert
As three planes violated the flight-ban in airspace
over LA during his visit:
US: Two F-16 fighters were scrambled Thursday after three small
planes violated a flight ban imposed for a fundraising visit by
President Barack Obama in California, officials said.
The military jets intercepted a Cessna 206 at around 9:00 am (1600
GMT) and a Cherokee PA 28 about 30 minutes later in airspace over Los
Angeles, said North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman
Lieutenant Commander William Lewis. Both planes are single-engine, light
aircraft models.
“The fighters responded after the aircraft entered a temporary flight
restricted area, and escorted them until they departed the area,” Lewis
said in a statement.
Earlier in the morning, a Mooney M20 violated the airspace near
Fullerton, east of Los Angeles, at around 6:00 am and was forced to land
at Chino Airport, said a spokesman for the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).
The incidents brought to six the number of aircraft intercepted in
California for violating air space restrictions during Obama fundraising
visits since the start of this year.
On Wednesday, an F-16 fighter intercepted a Cessna airplane until it
landed at Camarillo Airport in Ventura County. On May 11, a small
private plane was intercepted by fighter jets and forced to land at El
Monte Airport.
On February 16, a Cessna was intercepted by two F-16s and forced to
land at Long Beach Airport, south of Los Angeles, where authorities
found marijuana on the plane.
Obama arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday from San Francisco, and
left Thursday for Las Vegas, a few hours after the latest air security
incidents.
AFP |