US President Joe Biden has been evacuated from his Delaware beach house after an unauthorized aircraft crossed into the restricted airspace above the property, triggering security protocols.
The president was rushed to a secure location around 1pm on Saturday after a privately owned plane “mistakenly” entered a secure area near Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the US Secret Service said in a statement. “The aircraft was immediately escorted out of the restricted airspace,” the agency added.
The secure location was reportedly a nearby fire station. Biden’s motorcade was seen traveling to the fire station, where an SUV in which the president was riding drove inside. Traffic was shut down for more than 20 minutes while Secret Service agents cleared the area and investigated the possible threat.
CBS News reporter Bo Erickson said he saw two military jets flying low over the beach town after the unauthorized plane was spotted. A local resident told Erickson that she saw a small white plane flying near Biden’s beach house at about 12:45pm. The two military jets scrambled over Rehoboth Beach a few minutes later.
“Preliminary investigation reveals the pilot was not on the proper radio channel, was not following the NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) that had been filed and was not following published flight guidance,” the Secret Service said. “The United States Secret Service will be interviewing the pilot.”