U.S Capitol Evacuated After Jetliner Lost Radio Contact With Air Traffic Control
- Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:42pm by
Scott Baker
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WASHINGTON (AP) — An airliner lost radio contact Saturday as it approached the nation’s capital, prompting the dispatch of fighter jets and the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol and all House and Senate office buildings.
Piedmont Airlines flight 4352 from Hilton Head, S.C., was on course for Reagan National Airport when it lost radio contact with air traffic controllers at a regional radar facility in Virginia for about 15 minutes, Federal Aviation Administration officials said.
F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base, but the airliner was able to re-establish radio contact and it landed at Reagan, said Stacey Knott, a spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The evacuation order was issued around 1:30 p.m. and was called off about a half-hour later when the plane landed.
Piedmont is a wholly owned subsidiary of US Airways based in Salisbury, Md. US Airways spokeswoman Tina Swail said the airline was working with local authorities to investigate the incident.
The number of passengers on board wasn’t immediately known. The company’s website says it operates 44 de Havilland DHC-8 turboprop aircraft, which can carry between 37 and 80 passengers depending on the model type.
___
Online:
Piedmont Airlines, Inc.: http://piedmont-airlines.com/
Reagan National Airport: http://www.metwashairports.com/reagan/reagan.htm
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rappini
Posted on January 2, 2011 at 9:44amPlenty of details missing from this one.
Report Post »dcwu
Posted on January 2, 2011 at 12:13amEvacuated the bowels of Washington huh? How can we keep them evacuated?
Report Post »5410amh
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 9:55pmwould it be so bad if a plane flew into the capital building as long as everybody except polosy and reid where out.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on January 2, 2011 at 6:17am5410 -
I most respectfully disagree. I would not want Pelousi and Reid to become martyrs, as much as I hope to wave bye-bye to them. Just go home, Nancy & Harry – just go home.
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 7:13pmSo proud of our guys & gals staying on this. Thank you a million times.
Report Post »Sergio Q
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 6:14pmapperantly The Department of Homeland Insercurity was not involved or they would not have dismissed it as possibly diruption in signal from the N.Y.C.’s New Years Celibration or some other nonsense.
Report Post »(glad there was no real problem & the Millitary was all over it quickish…. God bless our Troops!!!!)
jagr1850
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:11pmguess that darn TSA SAVED OUR ASSES AGAIN !!!
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:54pmIf you mean the Terrorist Starter Agency (TSA-KGB Inc.) then I will put it this way – Ugh!
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:01pmI wonder if those fighters are armed now? Or does the President expect our pilots to talk the bad guys down….. you know discuss what a horrible childhood they had; how they are “feeling.”
I hope they have Sidewinders out the wazooo (sp?)
Report Post »DMD
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:10pmI gaurentee they were not armed.
Report Post »seeker9
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:32pmHow could they Marandized if the radios are not working?
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:53pmDo the interceptors need POTUS permission to bring down a plane preceived as threatening in a no fly zone or how do the rules of engagement actually work?
Report Post »82dAirborne
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 6:10pm@ Snowleopard3200
Report Post »The Rules of Engagement can be situation specific and won’t be made public for obvious reasons. A military member should obey any legal order issued by a superior officer in his/her chain of command. Technically – National Command Authority would be required. Having said that not many junior or mid-range flight officers would disobey an order from a General. (I would not want to be the General Officer who issued that order without the NCA!!)
Our military, more than any other in the world, gives a lot of responsibility to the folks involved in the situation at the moment. Meaning that sometimes you do whatever you believe you have to do. Having to shoot at civilians, our own, would be one of the worst scenarios I could imagine.
snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 6:24pm@82nd
Thanks for explaining how it works; I should have figured there would be no published specifics in public on what the rules of engagement are, seeing indeed any attacker or lunatic could use them for causing a lot of harm, my appologies for that. Our military is great indeed.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 10:54pmThey send up armed aircraft now. Sidewinder SRAAM, Sparrow MRAAM and 20mm cannon (vulcan gatling gun) is standard. (S)hort and (M)edium air to air missle.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 11:46pmSo how come the ragheads know our ROE? “Hey, Tali, just so you know, we can’t shoot ya, courtesy of bro Hussein back home.”
Report Post »1776Federalist
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 1:46pmYou bet they are armed. They intercept to try to get radio contact, or visual contact first. If the plane appears to be compromised and indications are that it will be used as a weapon of jihad or mayhem, then the pilots can seek and obtain permission to eliminate the threat. That is common sense after the 9/11 fiasco. The White House also has anti-aircraft measures in place.
Report Post »Larry Sheldon
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:50pmI’d like for tre redundancy fans to explain this out in public.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:50pmThat would be the International House of Pancakes, My bad.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:49pmThey all met at the House of International Pancakes.
Report Post »HumbleMan
Posted on January 2, 2011 at 8:50am“international house of pancakes” … Is that code for the UN?
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:47pmRun, people, run!!!!
That certainly got the year started off with a bang!
Happy New Year!!!!
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:23pmToo bad the oblahblahs were not hope so they could learn how it’s done, and be inconvenienced. Darn.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:52pmI will be happy in that only the radio contact had been lost; any kind of accident (non terror or terror related) would be a tragedy of large proportions; buildings can be repaired, lives lost are never to be seen again.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on January 2, 2011 at 6:14amActually, Snow, I’m glad it was only a radio failure, too. Nothing more. But can you imagine the looks on their faces???
Report Post »1776Federalist
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 1:41pmIt was probably inattention to a frequency change or accidentally leaving it on the weather info or company freq after getting gate info. Pilot errors like this happen all the time. I have been an ATC for 23 years and it is a regular occurrence.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:47pmWell, at least we can see one part of the government that works; when the Obama administration and cronies-r-us are vacant from the capital, even evacuations will work part of the time.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 4:50pmYour fast to day Snow
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 5:50pm@Heavyduty
Bi-polar manic high, feels like my brain is revving on maximum all the time; gets very problematic after awhile.
Report Post »RobertCA
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 7:18pmYou nailed it SNOWLEOPARD3200 when it comes to them “ run Forrest run ”
Report Post »slimster
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 9:40pmf16s deployed and the white house evacuated after 15 minutes…
Report Post »Makes you really wonder what went wrong on 9/11… hours of no contact..
TXPilot
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 10:53pmMaybe Congress thinks someone is out to get them?…..and with their behavior, they might be right….lol
Report Post »IndyGuy
Posted on January 1, 2011 at 11:14pmHey Joe…wanna see how to get an escort to the airport???
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