Jets Scrambled to Intercept Student Pilot
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009; 6:17 PM
Two Air Force jets were scrambled into the air above Montgomery County on Tuesday after a student pilot was about to breach restricted airspace, a military spokeswoman said. A Coast Guard helicopter also took part in the operation, and escorted the pilot to the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, according to a Coast Guard spokesman.
The pilot, reportedly flying a Cessna, was held at the airpark by police for questioning by the U.S. Secret Service, according to a county police spokeswoman. There was no indication that the pilot intended any harm.
Residents in the area said they heard the noise.
Retired history teacher Ivar Olsen, 67, of Laytonsville said he had taken his Maltese, Tiffany, out to the front yard about 2:30 p.m. "She had just finished when the roar came," he said.
Tiffany scrambled to the porch, Olsen said, and he looked up to see two jets fly three large circles around a pair of aircraft -- a fixed-wing plane and an orange helicopter. Olsen said the only time he'd seen jets that close was on Sept. 11, 2001.
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