"Missed Signal" Caused Evacuation Of Capitol, Supreme Court Building

The FAA says it's found the answer in the wake of a huge air scare that forced the evacuation of the US Capitol and the Supreme Court June 9th. Someone was asleep at the switch.

Perhaps an explanation is in order. As Washington was preparing for President Ronald Reagan's state funeral that day, an aircraft without a transponder entered the Washington ADIZ. The King Air 200 was flying Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher to the somber proceedings lost its transponder shortly after take-off from Cincinnati-Kentucky International Airport on its way to Reagan National. Even though the flight crew was talking to the FAA, the agency says a civilian employee watching radar failed to pick up the on-screen indicator telling him the transponder was non-functional. He hit the panic button.

Jets were scrambled to intercept and loudspeaker announcements at the Capitol warned Reagan mourners, "You have one minute to impact!" The Capitol and the Supreme Court were evacuated before the whole mess was sorted out.

"While it took no more than five to seven minutes to sort that out, that was still time that this aircraft was speeding toward Reagan National," said FAA spokesman Greg Martin.

Two things changed as a result of the lessons learned in that fiasco, said Martin. First, the FAA will set up a direct radar feed to the regional coordination center so everyone is looking at the same picture. Second, no aircraft without a working transponder will be allowed into the ADIZ -- no matter who's on board.

FMI: www.faa.gov