Pilot surprised by F-16s • Two F-16 fighters intercept 75 year old woman's plane. NORAD Fighters Respond to Aircraft Near Chicago.

http://www.norad.mil/News/2011/080311.html
 
A 75-year-old South Barrington pilot got the surprise of her life when her small plane was intercepted by two F-16 fighter jets Wednesday night after it entered restricted airspace temporarily put in place for President Barack Obama’s visit to Chicago.

The jets were scrambled from Toledo by the North American Aerospace Defense Command at 5:34 p.m. after the Kitfox Model 2 flew into temporarily restricted airspace, said NORAD spokesman Lt. Michael Humphreys.

NORAD officials said the plane did not have a radio, forcing the command to scramble the jets in order to identify it. The jets intercepted the plane, forcing it to turn around and return to its home airport of Mill Rose Farm, Humphreys said.

The airport is basically a grass landing strip in the middle of a residential area owned by the Rose family of South Barrington. The FAA has record of several aircraft registered to the family’s patriarch, William R. Rose, who died in April 2010 at age 83.

The pilot, Myrtle Rose — wife of William R. Rose, who was among the founders of the village of South Barrington — was flying the plane by herself, South Barrington Deputy Police Chief Ray Cordell said.

“She was unaware that she had entered restricted air space,” Cordell said, adding that Rose didn’t seem shaken. “Surprised was probably the right term.”

An employee at Rose Packing Company Inc., which owns Mill Rose Farm airport, declined to comment. Rose herself could not be reached for comment.

For the quiet bedroom community of South Barrington, it’s the most excitement the village of roughly 4,500 people has seen in years.

“We do not have fighter jets flying over the village very often,” Cordell said.

South Barrington police got involved after receiving a call from Illinois State Police notifying them that the Federal Aviation Administration was looking for the pilot.

Cordell said Rose gave a statement to the FAA and that the agency “didn’t believe that there was any threat.” FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said the agency’s investigation could take several weeks.

“With these types of Temporary Flight Restriction violations, there are no lines drawn in the air; it’s sometimes a little hard to tell where you’re at,” said NORAD spokeswoman Stacey Knott. “Typically, it’s just a mistake.”

Source: http://www.dailyherald.com

SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. (AP) Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted a plane flown by a 75-year-old woman when it entered restricted airspace during President Barack Obama's Chicago visit.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command confirms to The Daily Herald that the jets were summoned from Toledo, Ohio, on Wednesday afternoon. NORAD spokesman Lt.

Michael Humphreys says the jets intercepted Myrtle Rose's Kitfox Model 2 and she turned around.

Police say the South Barrington woman was flying the plane by herself and wasn't aware she was in restricted airspace. They say she didn't seem shaken, but was surprised.

South Barrington is a northwestern Chicago suburb with about 4,500 residents. Obama was in Chicago for a birthday fundraiser.

Information from: Daily Herald, http://www.dailyherald.com