As President Barack Obama was wrapping up his speech in Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday afternoon, two Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters on air defense duty intercepted a private plane that flew into airspace restricted because of the visit.
NORAD officials told WVEC.com the jets couldn’t communicate with the Piper PA-28, which was located east of Cape Henry around 12:45 p.m. Officials say the flight restrictions were put into place by the Federal Aviation Administration for the president’s rally at Farm Bureau Live.
Following the intercept, the plane, was allowed to continue its flight. PA-28s are popular light aircraft better known as Cherokees.
Generally, the F-16’s that handle East Coast homeland defense are the responsibility of the temporarily assigned Air National Guard units that rotate in and out of Langley AFB in Hampton, Va.
From WVEC.com
