President Joe Biden was evacuated to a secure location on Saturday afternoon after an aircraft entered the restricted airspace near his beach house in Delaware.
President Biden was rushed to a fire station when a light aircraft violated the restricted airspace over the president’s home in Rehoboth Beach, according to the Daily Mail.
CBS News White House reporter Bo Erickson wrote on Twitter, “At 12:52p, I saw @POTUS motorcade race into the Rehoboth Fire Station. I saw President Biden through the window of a SUV. Right before the motorcade, I saw 2 military jets flying low over the beach town. The press pool is not with the motorcade.”
A neighbor said a small white plane flew near Biden’s home around 12:45 p.m., then two military-style jets were scrambled and flew into the area.
The 79-year-old president was spotted in the back of an SUV as his motorcade raced away from the beach house.
Rehoboth Beach Fire Chief Chuck Snyder told Erickson that Secret Service informed him at 12:48 p.m. that the president and the first lady were being taken to the station “because of a threat.”
Snyder said President Biden and Jill Biden remained in the SUV while it was parked inside the fire station garage. He added that the fire department has participated in drills with the Secret Service previously in case the president needed to be evacuated.
A White House official told the White House press poll, “A small private plane entered restricted airspace, all indications are by mistake, and precautionary measures were taken. There was no threat to the President or his family,” according to CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe.
The U.S. Secret Service issued a statement on the incident:
Shortly before 1 p.m. today a privately owned aircraft entered the restricted airspace over Rehoboth Delaware after mistakenly entering a secured area. The aircraft was immediately escorted out of the restricted airspace. 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 United States Secret Service will be interviewing the pilot.
The president’s motorcade reportedly left the fire station at 1:29 p.m.