Two Oregon Air National Guard jets scrambled from
on Tuesday afternoon to intercept a small float plane that veered into restricted airspace near Seattle during a visit by President Barack Obama.
The jets, from the
, left Portland about 1:40 p.m., then ripped north through western Washington, where
trailing in the planes' wake, said Guard Col. Mike Stencel.
The seaplane left the restricted area before the jets reached Seattle, about 10 minutes later, Stencel said.
Obama, who was in the Northwest to stump for
(D-Wash.) as part of a larger cross-country campaign trip, was leaving his hotel when the booms rattled Seattle windows. The president left the city about 3:45 p.m.
Stencel, speaking with an Oregonian reporter outside the guard's air base in Northeast Portland, said the F-15s are on 24-hour alert and often respond to emergencies, but that the nature of this call led to a more urgent response.
"What is unusual is for us is to immediately take a full-afterburner turn as soon as you get the gear and flaps up, heading north over downtown Vancouver," Stencel said. "We do our best to fly over the river at a low-power setting to avoid noise complaints."
He said the distance from Portland to Seattle, about 145 miles by air, is covered by the single-seat jets in minutes.
, F-15s can reach top speeds of about 1,875 mph.
Stencel said the Oregon Air National Guard in Portland monitors the entire Northwest. "We cover defense for Oregon, Washington and Idaho, with the next air defense base being down in Fresno, Calif.," Stencel said.
that the incident began when a Cessna 180 float plane en route to a seaplane port on Lake Washington accidentally entered the restricted airspace.
interviewed the pilot, Lee Daily, after he landed at
on the north end of the lake east of Seattle, according to a passenger on the plane.
Laura Joseph of
, said she and Daily were unaware that the harbor had been closed for the duration of the president's visit.
Joseph said she and Daily were allowed to leave after being interviewed by the Secret Service and haven't heard anything yet about possible sanctions.
Stencel said authorities often issue air notices, called
, alerting pilots to areas of restricted travel. "Civilian pilots should be looking that up before they go and fly in a restricted area and should know all about that area before they take off, but sometimes they don't," he said.
The F-15s were asked to remain briefly in Seattle airspace, then returned to Portland, landing at 2:45 p.m. and 2:58 p.m.
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