LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A small plane with more than 20 pounds of marijuana strayed into restricted airspace around President Barack Obama’s helicopter on Thursday in Los Angeles, prompting U.S. F-16 fighters to rush to intercept it, officials said.
The two F-16s were scrambled from March Air Reserve Base, east of Los Angeles, by North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command officials alerted to an airspace violation “in the vicinity” of Los Angeles International Airport, a NORAD spokesman said.
The fighter jets made contact with the pilot of the Cessna 182, a single-engine plane, and the pilot then complied with instructions to land at Long Beach Airport, spokesman Michael Kucharek said.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said agents questioned the pilot and determined there was no apparent intention to harm the president. ENTIRE ARTICLE AT SOURCE
