Cessna 180 Busts Washington Restricted Airspace

Last Friday, a Cessna 180 on a flight from Maine to North Carolina strayed into restricted airspace over Washington, D.C., and was escorted to an unscheduled landing at a Maryland airport. The pilot's GPS had apparently malfunctioned, and he flew into the restricted airspace by mistake. Security officials placed the White House under temporary lockdown, and President Obama was "briefly relocated" to an undisclosed position. The House was not in session, but the Senate took a short recess out of what officials called "an abundance of caution."

Mark Phelps is a senior editor at AVweb. He is an instrument rated private pilot and former owner of a Grumman American AA1B and a V-tail Bonanza.

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