Plane Diverted After Entering Restricted Airspace in Md.

Spokeswoman Says Warning System Was Turned Off

A twin-engine private plane flew into restricted airspace over Montgomery County yesterday before being intercepted by jet fighters that fired a flare, witnesses and authorities said.

The Capitol was not evacuated, but Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) called a recess about the time of the 6 p.m. incident. The Associated Press reported that people remained in the chamber.

The airplane, a propeller-driven Cessna that was registered in Canada and was flying from Knoxville, Tenn., to Gaithersburg, apparently lost its communications after being hit by lightning, according to a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials did not say how close the plane came to downtown Washington. Two witnesses said it appeared that it was intercepted a few miles north of the center of Wheaton.

Pete DiBella said he was at his home in Wheaton when he saw the flare fired. Another witness said he was in the vicinity of University Boulevard when he saw two F-16 jets circling the Cessna. After the flare was fired, he said, the small plane changed course.

The plane apparently was trying to avoid bad weather, an FAA spokeswoman said. It landed at what was said to be its original destination, the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, about 10 miles north of Wheaton.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said there was an apparent failure of the Cessna's transponder, which provides data about the plane and its flight.

[The Associated Press reported today that First Lt. Lisa Citino, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said a new system of lasers designed to warn pilots that they've entered restricted airspace wasn't turned on during the episode yesterday because the pilot couldn't have seen them through the clouds.]

On May 11, a single-engine plane neared the White House and Capitol, prompting massive evacuations. Jets fired two flares to turn around the plane in that incident.

A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command said he could not immediately recall other incidents in which flares were used to divert aircraft from the restricted space.

A Capitol Police spokesman said notifications went to the "protective teams" that provide security for Senate leaders.

"I believe the leadership was informed that they may have to leave," said Officer Michael Killough.

Staff writer Shailagh Murray contributed to this report.