Flying too close to the White House

...a security scare in Washington D.C.

The White House had an unexpected visitor in the form of a student pilot, who flew his small aircraft within the airspace of the White House, causing a great security flap as officials tried to ascertain what the aircraft was doing flying into a high security area.

The incident created a panic in Washington, as it was at first unknown whether the aircraft was there by some accident, or with terrorist intentions.

Several news outlets have reported on this event, organized here in a timeline as the story unfolded...

On the morning of Wednesday, May 11th a Cessna 150 (propeller, 2 seater aircraft) flew into restricted airspace close to the White House and the Capitol. Fighter jets were dispatched, thousands were evacuated, and a security scare became real.

Evacuation as a stray plane enters restricted airspace - without knowing what the aircraft was doing in restricted airspace, thousands are evacuated, and the security threat is assessed.

Security alert system tested - the incident lasted for under an hour, and did test the post September 11th security provisions.

Pilot didn't know how to operate the fuel pump - although this doesn't really have an impact on one's ability to fly an airplane, this tidbit was added in the wake of discovering that the stray plane was under the control of a pilot who was lost.

Pilot could have paid for mistake with his life - because of the security threat, officials did mull over whether to have the stray Cessna and its pilot and student pilot shot down.

The government will respond to the incident - the U.S. government says that it will take action against the pilot who seemingly got lost enroute to an airshow, and caused the evacuation of thousands fearing a possible terrorist threat.