No Incidents in No-Fly Zone

By Spencer S. Hsu
As of 6 p.m., federal authorities reported no violations of the no-fly zone extending 30 miles around Washington on Inauguration Day. However, civilian aviation and Pentagon spokesmen said there were eight incursions of restricted airspace Saturday as then-President-elect Barack Obama made his way by train from Philadelphia to Washington.

Of the eight, five small private aircraft caught the edge of no-fly areas and "were clearly not a threat," said Laura Brown, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Federal authorities are investigating two other incidents over the Philadelphia area and one over Wilmington, Del., Brown said, and have filed pilot deviation reports.

Michael Kucharek, a spokesman for U.S. Northern Command, which has military responsibility for North American, said authorities launched U.S. Coast Guard helicopters in each case, but the pilot either left restricted airspace or landed before being intercepted.

The expanded no-fly zone over Washington expired at 6 p.m. today.