Small plane causes scare on Capitol Hill

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from the Washington Post Article "Confused Fliers Trigger Capital Scare." Silver Chips Online posts these news stories to provide readers a forum for discussion.

Two Pennsylvania aviators got lost because they were using outdated maps and flew over the no fly zone in Washington D.C. yesterday. The two men were arrested but released after police determined they posed no security threat.

Alarms were sounded and police began shouting warnings for people to evacuate. Thirty-five thousand government employees were evacuated from the Capitol, Supreme Court, and other nearby offices buildings.

According to officials, the two men, Hayden Sheaffer and Troy Martin, did not realize the severity of their infraction and refused to divert, citing their right to proceed as they wished. Their maps did not have the latest security limits set in place since 9/11. The pilots did not realize that their situation was grave until four red flares were shot across the plane's nose.

The normal penalty for a pilot who flies into restricted airspace is a suspension of the license for 30 to 120 days.