Cessna Pilot Who Flew Over Bush Motorcade Is Detained
Federal authorities Thursday detained the pilot of a small plane who mistakenly flew over President Bush’s motorcade as he left a speaking venue here, officials said.
The man piloting the single-engine Cessna 172 violated a 30-mile no-fly zone around the president, while patrolling an oil pipeline at altitudes too low to be sighted on radar, according to aviation and law enforcement officials.
An F-16 fighter and two military helicopters intercepted the aircraft and escorted it to a suburban New Jersey airport about 15 miles southeast of Philadelphia, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
About 30 police officers, with their guns drawn, waited for the airplane to taxi to a stop and then ordered the man to lie down on the tarmac.
“They handcuffed him and whisked him out of here,” said Karl Kleinberg, the airport’s owner.
The man was released without charge after being detained for hours at a New Jersey police station.
“He was unaware that there was a temporary flight restriction in effect. There was no threat. There was no malice,” said James Borasi, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Philadelphia field office.
He identified the pilot only as an employee of Underwood Aerial Patrol of Bloomingburg, Ohio.
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