US

F-16s Intercept 75-Year-Old Woman‘s Plane During Obama’s Chicago Bash: ‘I Was Just Flying Around’

CHICAGO (The Blaze/AP) — Myrtle Rose was just taking a short flight over suburban Chicago when the 75-year-old aviation enthusiast looked out her cockpit window to see two F-16 fighter jets. She assumed the military pilots were just slowing down to get a closer look at her antique plane.

F 16s Intercept 75 Year Old Myrtle Rose Plane During Obamas Chicago Bash:

Myrtle Rose, left, was intercepted by F-16 fighter jets after she flew into restricted airspace. (Naples Daily News)

It wasn’t until she got on the ground that friends and the police told her the attention was much more serious – for straying into restricted airspace during a visit by President Barack Obama.

Rose, who tries to fly every day when weather permits, said she had been itching to get back in the air Wednesday after a number of days on the ground. She normally uses her computer to check for any airspace restrictions, but it wasn’t working properly.

“I hadn’t flown in over a week,” she said. “It was a beautiful afternoon.” After some guests departed her home, she “just climbed in the airplane and left.”

To make matters worse, “I didn’t have my radio on. I was just flying around,” she said.

It all added up to a big mistake.

“There’s really no excuse for not knowing,” said Lt. Col. Mike Humphreys, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which scrambled the two warplanes, a proposition that costs $9,000 an hour for each jet. “Anyone who flies an aircraft should know the restrictions.”

Because Obama was in town for a fundraiser marking his 50th birthday — for he drew in $3.6 million — private pilots were forbidden to come within 30 miles of O’Hare Airport.

When the fighters appeared, Rose wasn’t alarmed.

“I thought, `Oh, well, they’re just looking at how cute the Cub is,” she said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. The blue-and-yellow plane had won a best-in-class award at the Oshkosh Air Show, a huge annual gathering in Wisconsin.

Another NORAD representative suggested that Rose had no business thinking that a military jet racing toward her had anything to do with the cuteness of her plane.

“The biggest thing to keep in mind is that when F-16s come screaming up to you, they are probably trying to tell you something,” spokeswoman Stacey Knott said.

Rose, who has been flying since the mid-1960s and even performed as a wing walker until five or six years ago, said the jet pilots could not have been more considerate.

Though she never saw their faces – hard to do, she said, when she’s puttering along at about 60 mph and the jets were doing what she figured was about 300 mph – she was impressed with the way the pilot who pulled in front of her kept his distance to avoid rattling her wood-and-fabric plane.

“He was very respectful,” she said.

Rose returned to land at her home in the affluent South Barrington area. Her late husband owned Rose Packing Co., a meat packer that supplies Canadian bacon to McDonald’s restaurants.

Once she was on the ground, some friends rushed over and told her that the rendezvous had nothing to do with the good looks of the plane named Winston. After the aircraft was in the hanger, her yard began filling with police cars.

Rose said she filled out a report with the Federal Aviation Administration, including a note describing how she mistakenly believed the jets were circling to admire her plane. She said she has not heard from the agency.

FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said the investigation would probably take several weeks. Penalties could include a fine or a suspension of her pilot’s license, or the agency might not take any action at all.

Rose, a Republican who said she did not vote for Obama, joked about mailing the president a note for his birthday.

“Oh, dear, maybe I should send him a belated birthday card and say, `You should have stayed home and Michelle baked you a birthday cake.’”

Rose said she does have a bone to pick with NORAD, or whoever released the information about her close encounter with the jets.

“The worst part is they put my age in there,” she said. “I don’t think that was nice.”

Comments (138)

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  • BurntHills
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:08am

    the only reason why the jets didn’t shoot her down is they could see for themselves she was no threat to the anti-American communists’ fuhrer wannabe. how dare obama all Life for 30 miles around Chicago must come to a stop just so the fuhrer wannabe obama can enjoy his cocaine and cake in Chicago.

    what must the AMERICAN pilots have thought, there was the classic little old white haired AMERICAN grandmother that obama has tried so hard to paint as an evil terrorist.

    Report Post » BurntHills  
    • redneckdiver
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:59am

      “Either way, she should lose her license over this but she needs to be admonished officially for failing to take care of the basics of General Aviation.”

      Methinks you have no idea what the basics are yourself. As already mentioned, VFR requires no plan of any kind to be filed. Even if she was going on a long cross country, that would be a good idea, but not required. The only thing I might criticize her for is not checking the NOTAMs, but if she‘s used to flying in that area and it’s normally completely unrestricted, I can understand how she got a little sloppy and went even though she couldn’t look up anything on the computer.

      Report Post » redneckdiver  
    • Morris
      Posted on August 7, 2011 at 11:27am

      Is she a TEA PARTY TERRORIST,as VP JOE BIDEN Would call her,If she is on Social Security,
      she is also a TERRORIST,Don’t you just love this Dictator Obama Admin.????

      “WE THE PEOPLE” Must start Pushing the CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,TO IMPEACH THIS DAMN DICTATOR BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA AND HIS MEXICAN-MUSLIM LOVING ADMINISTRATION!

      Dictator Obama and Hillary Clinton,Nancy Pelosie,Harry Reid,are still pushing the “DREAM ACT”,
      “GUN CONTROL” and the “UN-AGENDA-21″,“WE THE PEOPLE” Must stop this Administration Now,
      This Admin. is KILLING OUR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

      The Hell with the “POLITICAL CORRECTNESS” of the Dictator Obama Admin.,“WE THE PEOPLE”
      must rise up and stop this CORRUPT ADMIN, NOW !

      For evil to flourish,All that is needed is for good American People to say and do nothing,Start doing something America,Start the ball rolling to IMPEACH DICTATOR BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA,
      LETS SAVE OUR AMERICA!

      Dictator Obamas Admin. is a TERRORIST ADMIN, OUT TO DESTROY THE USA!

      GOD BLESS AMERICA.

      Report Post »  
    • My Two Cents
      Posted on August 7, 2011 at 5:16pm

      I wonder if Lt. Col. Mike Humphreys knows how much we are spending per hour in Libya!

      Report Post »  
  • tgp42rhr
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:07am

    Welcome to the Socialist Republic of Amerika, your papers please! You are not free to do anything inculding breathing….

    Report Post »  
    • BurntHills
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:11am

      if obama keeps getting his way, Life as we know it will be back to life in the 1600s and windmills and goatcarts. he wants to defeat and destroy America… but he also wants to see it go into a 3rd world democrat ghetto too. part of the bigger obama agenda is our military jets will be bulldozed down a runway one of these days so we can no longer defend ourselves.

      Report Post » BurntHills  
    • BrianM
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:17am

      OK…sweet old lady…I get it. However, you don’t just get into a plane and fly. You check weather, you file a flight plan, you preflight your aircraft, etc. That little ‘jaunt’ would have ended when she tried to file her flight plan. She would have seen the flight restrictions or the flight plan would’ve been rejected outright if someone reviewed it. Albeit, flight plans are normally just “filed” and not reviewed. Either way, she should lose her license over this but she needs to be admonished officially for failing to take care of the basics of General Aviation.

      Report Post »  
    • Tyr
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:11am

      BrianM
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:17am

      Really! There are a whole lot of us pilots that “just get in our planes and fly”! If you are not flying in controlled airspace, or in IFR conditions you don’t have any requirements to do anything except have an up to date, certified aircraft, a current medical and a valid pilots license. Of course most of todays private pilots need 15,000 ft of runway to take off and land and a controller to tell them which way to turn and what altitude to fly. We call them “airplane drivers”. They sure as heck are not pilots.

      Report Post » Tyr  
    • Viet Vet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:26am

      LMAO…You GO, Ms Rose!!! Love it.

      Report Post »  
    • woodyl1011fl
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:42pm

      @brianm
      You make a lot assumptions that she did not do she’s been flying a long time. I‘m going make an assuptiom she’s probably been flying longer than you have been alive. She should not lose her license! We morphing into a totalitarian bureaucratic state brought on bt our Bolshevik democrat party and it’s Marxist leader but his party and the rinos laid the foundation for this a long time ago before he graduated from those Marxist universities.

      Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:46pm

      Maybe he’s scared of the far left taking him out. No one in the Tea Party is for violence.

      Report Post »  
    • WylE
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:21pm

      Unless you are here illegally. Then we will house you, feed you, school you, and pay you for doing nothing for the rest of your life, Well, you must do one thing. Swear to vote democrat,

      Report Post »  
  • Lowgo1981
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:03am

    I have inside information about this incident. Those pilots did get caught checking out her plane. This is a cover-up. They just wanted to see what they would be flying in next year, since we are now too broke to fuel their F-16′s!

    Report Post »  
  • right
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:56am

    What a joke. Thirty miles? Let Myrtle fly. Keep BO locked up somewhere away from the rest of us so he can’t cause any more problems for taxpayers.

    Report Post »  
  • christos
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:52am

    …….What a great lady,solid inspiration and full of class…

    Report Post » christos  
    • JGraham III
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:04pm

      I agree! This whole affair seems to be a ‘tempest in a teapot’. If the POTUS had any class at all (a tall order I admit), he’d tell the military wonks in charge to drop the whole thing and invite Ms Rose to the White House for a beer and leftover birthday cake. Then he could shake her down for a “contribution”.

      Report Post »  
  • hempstead1944
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:50am

    And just what makes anyone think our politicians are anything more than an inconvience. They really believe they are so important that they need empty space around them? Their heads are all the empty space they need!

    Report Post »  
  • teddrunk
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:49am

    Fantastic lady, nice plane, rotten President.

    Report Post »  
  • Realman30
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:45am

    Typical ditzy female!

    Report Post » Realman30  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:39am

      .
      I hope I can still drive when I’m 75.
      God bless her, she’s got spirit!

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • hannahh
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:41am

      I would gladly change her for the communist we have in the WH now!

      Report Post »  
    • Bluebonnet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:15am

      Heavens, some of the safest drivers are over 75, proven by this gorgeous lady who can still fly her beautiful aircraft. The whole story made me smile. My mom drove like Barny Oldfield until she was 92. She did have an accident about 85 yr old when a young man drove through a red light and hit her. My mom is similar to Myrtle Rose with the spunk they show. In fact, my mom helped build B-17′s in WW11, the Flying Fortress. Love this lady.

      Report Post »  
    • Viet Vet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:46am

      LMAO…um…I think Ms Rose knew more than she’s letting on.

      Report Post »  
  • Ialmostforgot
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:35am

    Flying is the highest form of Freedom! nuf said.

    Report Post »  
  • DonaldH
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:13am

    Look, this lady is obviously over age 72 so therefore has out lived her productive usefulness and she’s RICH,, Obama should be taxing her so hard that she can’t afford to provide for herself and therefore would die and the world would be rid of another rich capitalist parasite that sucks the blood out of the poor…
    However, with her out of the way look how many plastic surgeons would be out of work,,, did you notice how the ole’ gal filled out her sweater!!!!

    Report Post » DonaldH  
    • ProbIemSoIver
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:46am

      lol

      Report Post » ProbIemSoIver  
    • mils
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:54am

      degrading remarks. have more respect for your elders…it could be your grandmother.
      because she has money you appear jealous

      Report Post »  
    • Bluebonnet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:34am

      Hey Donald H. You‘re talking about my mom’s condo. They want all the old people to die and leave. Living there is like living under the regime of Hitler. Myrtle Rose is how all women this age should look.
      And yes, show some respect now or wait until you reach this age and feel the disrespect for yourself.

      Report Post »  
    • Jack2011
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:14am

      ObamaCare already killed her. She just doesn’t know it.

      Even as rich is she is, the BEST cancer treatments cost a fortune and ObamaCare will DENY anything but a pain bill for the elderly with cancers, heart disease, failing kidneys, etc.

      Report Post »  
    • Viet Vet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:38am

      LIghten up, Donald was being sarcastic.

      Yes, the death panels will eventually catch up with her.

      Report Post »  
    • Viet Vet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:41am

      OH, and yes I did notice how she filled out her sweater. She’s not that much older than me, wonder if she needs a copilot…..

      Report Post »  
    • JohnRich
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 2:50pm

      Yes, she filled out her sweater nicely. But her waist is also narrow and she looks generally trim and physically fit. You don’t get that way from plastic surgery.

      Report Post »  
  • Yorktown1781
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:49am

    This is what you get when you combine “must CYA” bureaucracy, virtually unlimited funds and paranoia. And, the fuel in the jets was bought with 40% borrowed money!

    Report Post »  
    • Bill Rowland
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:14am

      Don’t forget, Napalitano will now station a TSA team at her home to pat her down every time she wants to fly. Can’t be to careful.
      Maybe ATFE could use her to transport guns to Mexico.

      Report Post »  
  • iwillnotbequiet
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:43am

    I love this gal. Way to go Rose. Maybe we could get her to follow his road trip..LOL

    Report Post »  
  • palmettopalflorida
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:27am

    How about a 30 mile restricted zone around the White House, which Obama is not allowed to enter?

    Report Post »  
    • streetrodder
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:20am

      Better yet, a 30 mile limit around Chicago that he can’t leave.

      Report Post »  
    • Mountain Dew
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:41am

      and @ SREETRODDER. :D I’ll support either one. Where do i sign?

      Report Post »  
  • flattop
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:20am

    “She normally uses her computer to check for any airspace restrictions, but it wasn’t working properly.”

    So, did they do away with Flight Service Stations and NOTAMS?

    Report Post »  
  • karen162
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:51am

    She’s a Republican, wealthy from years of her husband and her working and succeeding and she employs people through her business. I’m shocked Pres Obama did not have the military label her a terrorist and shoot her down.

    Report Post » karen162  
    • Viet Vet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:44am

      You’re right Karen, under the democrap’s classification, she’s a terrorist.

      Report Post »  
  • EP46
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:44am

    HOW MUCH is it going to cost to secure air space if obama goes on his tax payer bus campaign ??
    Call the White House…NO ROAD TRIP unless the DNC pays for it !

    Report Post »  
  • Fina Biscotti
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:44am

    Good times…….her explanations are hilarious.

    Report Post »  
  • BubbaCoop
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:57am

    Chicago is notoriously unfriendly to general aviation to start with, but she still should have checked for TFRs

    Report Post »  
  • The_Almighty_Creestof
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:27am

    Um, maybe BO can have those same two F-16′s play tag with Airforce one over ground zero again… just for a few photo’s. How much did that cost again in dollars and frayed nerves?

    If they’re looking for stupid…tell them to look in their own shorts.

    Report Post »  
  • StrongWesternbabeluvinherWesternMAN
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:07am

    & if they pull her right to fly………we all need to take this up and protest………..because you know we are all terrorists……..we weren’t allow to call the Islamists who brought down the towers on 9/11 terrorists, we had call them insurgents or extremists but all conservatives can be called terrorists. Time to stand up for this woman if she gets any flack for flying her plane……..done it is over we aren’t taking it anymore! WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE THE INTELLIGENT PATRIOTS OF AMERICA and we have allowed the ‘not so bright’ to take over………..

    Report Post »  
    • dr_funk
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:18am

      Its not reasonable whatsoever to expect private pilots to abide by constantly-changing airspace restrictions. Its one thing to have permanent restrictions over airbases, military posts, etc. But to have moving bubbles of restricted airspace is nonsense.

      Report Post »  
  • StrongWesternbabeluvinherWesternMAN
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 2:59am

    She really does look great and I think she has more of a right to be in the air over any part of America than OBAMA does. She and her husband have probably supported the economy a hell uv a lot more than the present regime. She paid for her right to fly, OB is hitchhiking on America’s dime……so let her fly and ground OB and his mooching wife.

    Report Post »  
    • Jenny Lind
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:48am

      Best comment yet. Really like this gal, God bless her.

      Report Post »  
    • Viet Vet
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:52am

      I agree, best comment so far.

      Report Post »  
    • LANE131
      Posted on August 7, 2011 at 11:49am

      Yes 100% agree best comment sums up the truth of it. MS ROSE you have class and style, a real american spirit the way it use to be when america was and her people were greater.

      Report Post »  
  • Hmschlmom
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 2:13am

    I HOPE I LOOK THAT GOOD AT 75!

    God Bless her! She must be a pistol!

    Myrtle I think I love you!!

    Can we like, adopt you as an extra Grandma for my kids?

    You ROCK!

    Report Post » Hmschlmom  
  • magpilot
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:36am

    He flies air force one more than anyone yet. Being a pilot myself this is a joke. The no fly zones are out of control. I love it stay home and make a 5000 calorie cake.

    Report Post »  
    • kalli
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 2:07am

      You made my night…thanks for the good laugh.

      Report Post »  
  • GreenSicko
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:35am

    Will this 30 mile radis be included when BO takes his bus tour?

    Report Post » GreenSicko  
  • banjarmon
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:31am

    30 miles….BO is not worth that much.

    Report Post » banjarmon  
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