WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Wednesday evening after police identified an aircraft that they said posed “a probable threat” — but the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights, who then parachuted into Nationals Park for a pregame demonstration.
The alert from the U.S. Capitol Police sent congressional staffers fleeing from the Capitol and legislative building around 6:30 p.m.
The incident suggested a stunning communications failure between the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Capitol Police, all the more remarkable because of Washington’s focus on improving security since the January 6, 2021, attack on the building by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the FAA in a statement Wednesday night, saying its “apparent failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable.” The FAA did not respond to a request for comment.
Kelli LeGaspi, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, which was behind the Golden Knights demonstration, released a statement saying, “We are reviewing all aspects of the event to ensure all procedures were followed appropriately to coordinate both the flight and the parachute demonstration.”
Many who work on Capitol Hill have remained on edge more than a year after hundreds of pro-Trump rioters pushed their way past overwhelmed police officers, broke through windows and doors and ransacked the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s electoral win.
In Wednesday’s incident, the aircraft, a twin-engine plane, took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and had been circling inside heavily restricted airspace close to the Capitol when the alert was sent. Radar tracking data shows the plane, a De Havilland Twin Otter, remained clear of the prohibited airspace over the Capitol Building and other government complexes at all times. Air traffic control recordings capture the army plane coordinating its flight with the control tower at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Investigators were still working to determine why the event wasn’t properly coordinated with law enforcement officials in Washington, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Multiple federal agencies began scrambling officials as the plane circled overhead.
The capital region is defended by several surface-to-air missile sites, as well as military aircrews on round-the-clock alert. It did not appear that any of those systems were scrambled.
Officials believe, based on a preliminary review, the pilot may have not properly reported taking off or had appropriate clearance, the people said. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Pelosi said, “Congress looks forward to reviewing the results of a thorough after-action review that determines what precisely went wrong today and who at the Federal Aviation Administration will be held accountable for this outrageous and frightening mistake.”
The plane landed back at Andrews around 6:50 p.m. after the parachutists descended into the middle of the field at Nationals Park. The stadium, home of the Washington Nationals baseball team, is a little more than a mile away from the U.S. Capitol.
One witness to the chaos at the Capitol was Eireann Dolan, the wife of Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle. “I was walking the dogs past the Dirksen Senate Office Building,” Dolan tweeted. ”People started streaming out all at once. They told me to turn around and get away as fast as possible. Some people were calm but many were genuinely panicked. I know I was.”
Buildings on the Capitol complex were reopened a little after 8 p.m.
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Part 1—“The incident suggested a stunning communications failure between the military, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Capitol Police, all the more remarkable because of Washington’s focus on improving security since the January 6, 2021, attack on the building by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.”
Can you believe this insanity? Well, I guess by now, we all should. As usual, they’re looking for somebody to blame. The more pressing question here is: why did neither Nancy Pelosi nor the DC mayor call in the National Guard back on Jan 6th—after President Trump had authorized it???
But what do they continue to maintain to this day??—“Many who work on Capitol Hill have remained on edge more than a year after hundreds of pro-Trump rioters pushed their way past overwhelmed police officers, broke through windows and doors and ransacked the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s electoral win.”
IMO THERE WAS No communication failure.. THEY JUST WANTED TO use this, to raise hell that “THEY ARE SCARED”..
Incompetents on steroids. Ironic if the golden knights were shot down.
Red Dawn 2.0. Ooooh. I was actually on the mall at that moment with my kids and grandchildren seeing the military traffic including an Osprey in helicopter format wondering what all the hubbub was
About. Now I know. Upside down and backwards for another few years. Planet of the apes vintage Charlton
Heston.
Part 2—They want us to believe that Trump instigated a riot, but at the same time okayed calling in the National Guard to keep peace.
“Pelosi said, “Congress looks forward to reviewing the results of a thorough after-action review that determines what precisely went wrong today and who at the Federal Aviation Administration will be held accountable for this outrageous and frightening mistake.” Yeah, Nancy—no doubt. None of you would feel so panicked if it weren’t for a small voice inside your head warning you that you have done things deserving of impending harm. The next time you all feel the need to evacuate, just keep on running—don’t come back.
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the FAA in a statement Wednesday night, saying its “apparent failure to notify Capitol Police of the pre-planned flyover Nationals Stadium is outrageous and inexcusable.””
I will tell you what is/was “outrageous and inexcusable”.
Nancy Pelosi admitted an unfortunate truth about her
orchestrate and fabricated impeachment “farce”
– It hinges on witness’s “allegations” not “proof”.
It’s Not A Question” Of “Proof”, It’s About “Allegations”
https://youtu.be/7dzhIxeF204
The corrupt, treasonous Democrat elite and the Democrat Party never take responsibility or are held accountable for their own unlawful, destructive, dishonorable, immoral actions. Democrats always blame someone or something else for their own actions. Even if the Democrats are caught “red handed”.
Have you ever noticed that so many of the emergencies that we face, such as this one or most of the shootings are the result of big government incompetence?
This fake emergency could have been avoided if big government had merely coordinated with Capitol police about the planned event, just as many of the people who committed mass shooting were people that had slipped through the cracks and were not stopped before they committed their crimes.
And knowing this, big government is still trying to convince people that they are trustworthy and capable from protecting us. Unfortunately too many people believe that and are all to ready to turn their entire lives over to big government.
Typical government cluster****. Nothing new since my Army hitch early 70s.
AND unfortunattely like always, ITS THE GROSSLY incompetent, who don’t GET PUNISHED…
Events like this are usually published well in advance to hype interest, it was probably announced on all the broadcasts for weeks, radio and television, and in ads found on the sports pages. They were probably too busy digging through obscure files to find connections to Januaary 6!
Why would the ugly old stupid drunk hag be afraid of the military? Look at General (should be private) Milley. The dummycrats have wimped up our military to the point they can’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Today’s military is being led by George McClellan and/or George Custer types of losers. Dummycrats don’t want any George Pattons leading our military. It looks to me that the ugly old stupid drunk hag is paranoid. She needs to be psychoanalyzed, like the rest of the dummycrats.
Air traffic control recordings capture the army plane coordinating its flight with the control tower at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
So nobody in any of the agencies involved thought to call the airport, which controls all the flights in the area, and check? How “woke” is that?
Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
This comment isn’t really about this particular article. It’s about the AP in general. Has anyone else noticed when the AP makes any reference to January 6th they always use phrases like, “based on Trumps big lie” or “insurrection by Trump supports”. But when they talk about the Russian collusion hoax, not one adjective to describe that as false or a lie. It’s not just the AP that does this but they seem to do it consistently.
Hence, the initials “AP”—-All Propaganda
That’s because the AP IS yet another libtard LEFTIST RAG!!!
panic is another word for SCARED!
What’s the betting they push to BAN activites like this, in future.. SO it doesn’t “Trigger” them.
First there was Biden, a senile old man who can’t figure how to put one foot in front of the other without a guide. An now a whole group of party cohorts who saw a butterfly and ran screaming in fear. I don’t think these “leaders” aren’t even smart enough to lead you to failure.
OR have the balls to lead anyone out of a wet paper bag.
Planet of the Apes vintage Charlton Heston
Jefferson wrote in the 2nd paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.
What happened on January 6th was 1m patriots shy of doing of doing the right thing. 99.9% of Dems and 89% of Republicans were afraid of the sheriff that came to town to shut down their gravy train!