US F-16 fighter jets intercepted a small private plane that entered restricted air space during a visit to Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush, a North American Aerospace Command spokeswoman said Thursday.
The single engine Cessna responded to radio instructions and landed without incident Wednesday afternoon at an airport in Cross Keys, New Jersey, said Major Maria Quon, the NORAD spokeswoman.
“NORAD fighters were already in the air on an irregular air patrol. So they diverted to that patrol to meet him,” she said.
“He was in radio contact. He was compliant. The NORAD fighters escorted him out (of the restricted area) and he landed in a town called Cross Keys in New Jersey,” said.
The Federal Aviation Administration had set up a 30 nautical mile temporary restricted zone during the Bush visit.
Quon said F-16 fighters, which normally operate in pairs and typically are from air national guard units, conducted the intercept.
