Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher was the source of widespread panic in the Capitol yesterday when the Governor’s Beech King Air 200 lost its transponder signal 13 miles away from the DC area airport. The air traffic controllers with the FAA knew about this but neglected to inform the folks that run air security for the Capitol who took the Governor’s plane for an incoming bogie.
Lawmakers, dignitaries and mourners preparing for Ronald Reagan’s funeral ceremony raced from the Capitol Wednesday after police feared an airplane was headed for the building and warned: “You have one minute to impact.”
Police in the Capitol had urged people running down staircases to run faster. An officer shouted at one photographer trying to look back through a camera, “You don’t have time to look back.”
“Incoming plane!” another police officer shouted at reporters asking what was going on.
Women, many wearing formal dress for the Rotunda ceremony, kicked off high-heeled shoes to enable them to run faster.
Air scare forces brief evacuation of U.S. Capitol
Don’t be surprised to hear of reductions in Kentucky’s federal assistance.
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