President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were reportedly briefly evacuated from their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to a nearby fire station on Saturday after a small plane breached restricted airspace in the area.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the plane was escorted away after “mistakenly” entering a 30-mile restricted zone around the President’s home.
The plane’s pilot, per a Secret Service statement to the AP, was neither on the correct radio frequency nor following published flight instructions based on a preliminary investigation.
A check on SkyVector.com shows temporary flight restrictions (TFR) in the area near Rehoboth Beach at the mouth of Delaware Bay. The Federal Aviation Administration website has the pertinent TFR described in detail here.
There was no threat to the first family, but a CBS News reporter tweeted he saw the president’s motorcade headed to a nearby fire station and military jets overhead during the incident.
It’s not immediately clear what type of military aircraft potentially intercepted the small plane, but history suggests they were likely Air National Guard fighter jets patrolling the airspace. You can see what such an intercept looks like from the offender’s point of view in this past story of ours.
Traditionally, the President’s travels in this area, such as to his home in Delaware or Camp David, are covered by the D.C. National Guard’s F-16s and Air National Guard fighters forward-deployed on a rotational basis to Savannah Air National Guard Base in Georgia just to support the resource-intensive mission. These operations often include a fighter combat air patrol airborne and waiting 24/7 in the area, as well as tanker support, while the President is at the remote location. Coast Guard MH-65s are used for intercepting slow-flying aircraft, as well, but this is usually just over and around the District of Columbia.
We will continue to update this story as more information comes available.
stetson.payne@thewarzone.com