Capitol, White House evacuated briefly

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

SUN AND STAFF WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Capitol and White House were briefly evacuated today after a small plane entered restricted airspace over the city.

Security officials in several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court, ordered people to safer locations. Military aircraft were scrambled over the city.

President Bush was away from the White House, biking at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Md. Vice President Dick Cheney, in the White House, was moved to a "secure location" elsewhere, said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Congressional leaders were hustled from the Capitol by armed officers.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was in his office and, as the chamber's Democratic leader, was taken by car to what officials call an undisclosed secure location.

He returned soon after and gave a speech on the Senate floor praising the work of the various police and security agents who protect the capitol.

The other members of Nevada's delegation, except Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who is in the state, were evacuated from either the Capitol or their offices.

The call to evacuate came on a special pager and a public address system.

Amy Spanbauer, spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said the evacuation was more orderly than has been reported. She said after the call everyone in the office buildings quickly filed out.

Tourists and visitors found themselves in the middle of the evacuation as well.

After visiting the capitol, a school group from Ohio went to the National Air & Space Museum, which was evacuated.

"Teacher's going to ask me what I did in Washington and I'll get to say I stood outside during an air threat," said Kyle Smith, 12, of Tri Valley School in Frazeysburg, Ohio.

His grandmother, Sue Wolff, was with the group and received updates by her radio cell phone from her husband, who was in Ohio watching CNN.

The incident began at 11:28 a.m., when Federal Aviation Administration radar picked up the aircraft, a small two-seater Cessna 150 with high wings, officials said. The aircraft breached the security zone over Washington, law enforcement officials said, prompting alerts across the city.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the appropriate security measures consistent with this type of violation went into effect," said Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

Two Black Hawk helicopters were dispatched at 11:55 a.m. from Reagan National Airport, according to an FAA official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The plane came as close as four miles to the city, the official said.

The plane was approached by a fighter aircraft and escorted to a small airport in Frederick, Md. The pilot was being held by Maryland state police, Justice Department spokesman Kevin Madden said.

The incident sparked a flurry of emergency activity throughout the capital, which was targeted on Sept. 11, 2001 and has been under a heightened state of alert since then.

Armed security officers raced through the Capitol shouting for people to leave. "This is not a drill," guards shouted.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert was on the House floor talking to members when the evacuation siren went off. He left quickly with his security detail.

Sun reporters Benjamin Grove and Suzanne Struglinski and the Associated Press contributed to this report.