A small plane was forced to land in Chino, California, after a pilot violated airspace restrictions in place for President Barack Obama's visit, FAA spokesperson Allen Kenitzer told CNN.
Kenitzer had no further details about the incident.
The military also intercepted a private plane Thursday morning in the vicinity of Fullerton, California, Kenitzer said. The aircraft, a Mooney M20, landed at Chino at 6:04 a.m. PDT. The FAA is investigating.
The incidents on Thursday followed a similar issue on Wednesday when a fighter jet intercepted a single-engine airplane northwest of Los Angeles for breaching a temporary airspace restriction, according to a military news release.
The temporary restriction violated by the Cessna aircraft coincided with a campaign visit to the city by Obama, who was on a one-day fundraising swing through the state.
"After intercepting the aircraft, the F-16 followed it until it landed without incident, at approximately 4:58 p.m. PDT where the plane was met by local law enforcement," according to a statement issued by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The president spoke at a gala for the gay community in Los Angeles, on his third fundraising trip to the Golden State in the past month. Earlier in the day, he attended two campaign events in San Francisco.
NORAD's mission is to protect U.S. and Canadian airspace against possible threats and may require planes to change course or land.
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NORAD? These clowns still have a job???? Youd think when the agency in charge of protecting US airspace allows 2 planes to slam into the twin towers they would all be fired and a new agency created who can handle their responsiblities.
Unless of course they were told the stand down.
erik, they were told to stand down when the airliners were hijacked.
Was the small plane armed with homemade missiles??...Estes sells many kinds....some pretty big too...
Why can't the President just stay and actually do a days work at the Whitehouse instead of turning people lives upside down! He such an idiot!
I think you are the qualifying idiot. Air force One has all the communications apparatus on board, and don't you think the president is continuing doing as if he was in the Oval Office?
There is a fully functioning "Whit House" on board Air Force One.......idiot.....
GWBush took many more days of vacation, and days out of the White House, at this time in his administration then Obama has...
Too bad it missed!
if he is on a fund raising trip it should NOT be at the tax payes expense...Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home, etc. When did this happen? It's in the health care bill, - and it goes into effect in 2013. Why 2013? Could it be so that it doesn’t come to light until after the 2012 elections? So, this is ‘change you can believe in’? Oh, you weren't aware that this was in the ObamaCare bill? Guess what; you aren't alone! There are more than a few members of Congress that weren't aware of it either.
You can check this out for yourself at: http://www.gop.gov/blog/10/04/08/obamacare-flatlines-obamacare-taxes-home
These is false. Check snopes, not some GOP nut-job site.
Or is it that you are a liar?
That's FALSE! I just checked it on snopes.com. The 3..8% tax is on profits ever the capital gains thresholds.
Please crawl back under your rock mutter and growl, as usual.
if any politician go to attend any fund raising ,should use on money beside using tax payer dollar even sitting president of usa
Alright barack obama you have been using my jets quit often, tell you what if you can pay me $ 5 trillion dollars in GOLD then I will let you off the hook, the GOLD must come from your personal account.
"quit often"?
I'm guessing you never complained when Bush went anywhere on his jet. Just a shot in the dark...
*LAX Emergency REPORT*
The pres is visiting LA for the pro-abortion gala in funding the fetus supply to degenerates. You are ordered to stop your flight wherever it might be because the pres. has better things to do than you.
*end of LAX Emergency REPORT*
I recall the Grand Entrance of idiot Bush on a Money fest to Seattle years ago and witnessing F-15s flying around at 300 feet in full afterburner "clearing the airspace" before Dubbya’s arrival...... Guess that is what we need to happen – -
lol First partially black president (as far as we know), first foreign president, and first openly gay president. I't gotta be a record. lol
You seem to be saying that, because the president supports equal rights, he is "gay". Interesting assessment – though very much in error, from all evidence, (wife, children, bad dancer).
heaven forbid you fly around your highness President OBAMA
your spelling of "it's" as i't, has got to be a record for something as well...
The only record here was set by the stupidity of your comments.
and a Comedian.He should stay in DC.
Well that is just ignorance talking.It is just sad that this ignorance is allowed to breathe, drive, and vote.
Kindly log off. thanks
Yeah – he's openly gay... you are very good at logic. Good thing your wife/sister will love you without intelligence.
Shuffler:First idiot... wait no plenty of other conservatives beat you to that.
Sir, your post is absolutely idiotic.
missing brain cells... its okay, it will all be over for you soon enough.
This is going to become more frequent. Obama is flying all over the country last minute plans to save his re-election. All on our tax dollars by the way!
Just as every president does. So what?
Campaign trips are paid for by his campaign, official trips are paid for by taxpayers. It all very carefully accounted for. And yes, he will run around before the election, every politician always has, it's called campaigning. Take a civics lesson and stop spouting stupidity.
Nope, paid for by his campaign funds, but thanks for trying to fan the flames further.
Actually not true. Campaign events are paid for by the campaign. The laws governing reimbursement are the same for Obama as they were for Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, etc. And the wackos like to complain about the cost of Secret Service protection but those costs are pretty much the same no matter what, because no President just sits on his butt in D.C. all the time, and the Secret Service have to be with him wherever he goes. Oh, and by the way, Romney has a Secret Service detail flying with him now, and the taxpayers pay for them also.
@madrep- and your point is? Of course its on tax payers money, so what? By the way, he doesnt have to save his campaign either, its called campaigning, ever hear of it? Quit crying and go to work.
yes, because no other president has ever campaigned for their 2nd term.
On our tax dollars? Campaign trips are paid from the re-election funds donated by supporters of the president. But you hate the Obama so much that you'll tell any lie just to spout that hate.
Yeah, just like EVERY president ever has, and ever will. Seriously, could you be more silly?
On a good note, Biden is thinking about a 2016 run! Pleeeasseee Joe, run, run!!!! No wonder Clinton is politicking......Hillary will be a Dem shoe in in 2016.
No problems here. Since the planes were not supposed to be flying in that area they were instructed to land. Simple as that. And to anyone who is saying that President Obama is using tax-payer dollars for this they are only half right. He isn't using tax-payer dollars to fly to CA and attend a fundraiser, but his staff is using them to help keep him safe, as they should be. If you don't think that the President, or any President for that matter, should use tax-payer dollars so that he can be protected then you aren't thinking broadly enough. Where else is he going to get the money to ensure his protection? Do you think he should be using his own money? If that is the case, then it is very insulting. If that isn't the case then please rethink your analysis and try not to align youself with a certain part of the nation's political spectrum. We're all adults here, so lets try to ensure that it stays that way.
Yes, lets. Obammy should be using his own money.
lol. You're really making the speculation that Obama is picking up the tab for flying around in Air Force One...? Get serious...he's not paying for that out of pocket, the taxpayers are.
Welcome to America.
that was probably the most intelligent comment ive heard in a while
Sigh.
Campaign funds are paying for AF1.
Jesus God, how many times does that have to be stated?
@J R Brown: the rules governing reimbursement are no different for Obama than any other President. Scenario 1: Suppose you want Obama not to use Air Force One on a campaign trip. So he flies a commercial charter and the U.S. is attacked while he's in the air. Wait ... the commercial charter doesn't have secure military communications, and the U.S. can't respond to the attack. Great idea! Scenario 2: you force the President's campaign to pay the true cost of operating Air Force One. Now his campaign is handicapped by the expense of paying for the cost of having that secure command-and-control center available, which the challenger doesn't have. Not fair. So the solution is – and has been – that the campaign reimburses at the rate it would have cost to use a commercial charter (like the challenger's campaign), and the additional cost is borne by the taxpayers as the routine cost of making sure our Commander-in-Chief is always able to command.
That is going to happen when the law can change from day to day or hour to hour!
This is kinda stupid...if the Presiden doesn't post his itinerary to the public, how are pilots supposed to know he's going to "be around" at some point in the day to avoid his airspace; I think it's ridiculous that a person is forced down at gunpoint because Obama is campaigning for gay votes...or any votes. Campaigning is not a "presidential duty" so why should people get screwed because he wants to scamper around the country pandering to people?
the FAA posts air space restrictions everyday around the country, for what ever reason. Every responsible pilot knows that.
Bow and worship before your leader or die!
It is no different for President Obama than that of any other president of the past. Just because he is the center of so much controversy! For Christ's sake people GROW UP! Don't like who is in office then run your self, or go out and rally votes for the "other guy" instead of sitting on your dead @$$es and whining get out and do something about it!!!!!!!
All pilots have the responsibility to check NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) for TFRs (Temporary Flight Restrictions) before every flight, no matter if they are flying VFR or IFR. A TFR would have been issued and the pilots should have known about it. Homeland Security and FAA will probably question the pilots why they were in restricted airspace, and may very well lose their pilots license.
Pilots are expected to file a flight plan, and when they do they will be told to avoid certain areas such as where AF1, happens to be. Any pilot straying into such zones always are escorted out "at gunpoint" as you put it. This happens regularly, nothing to do with who is president at the time.