F-16 fighter jet intercepted small plane in restricted airspace near Biden speech in California
CBSN
An F-16 fighter jet intercepted a small plane last Friday in restricted airspace over Southern California, near a community college where President Biden had just begun speaking. The incident occurred over Santa Ana, Calif.; the president was at a community college in Irvine, about 12 miles away.
According to an Air Force press release, the fighter jet fired flares to "gain the attention" of the Cessna pilot. Air traffic control audio revealed the F-16 alerted the pilot numerous times he had been "intercepted" by the armed jet on guard and had entered restricted airspace. The pilot asked the errant Cessna to acknowledge a radio call and rock its wings.
An unverified tweet of the conversation says the F-16 fighter pilot also tried to get the Cessna pilot's attention with so-called "headbutt" maneuvers, like flying in front of the plane.
