Obama was briefly "relocated" by the Secret Service

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Obama 'relocated' by brief airspace scare

US President Barack Obama was briefly "relocated" by the Secret Service Friday after a single-engine plane entered restricted airspace over the US capital, his spokesman said.

"The president was briefly relocated out of an abundance of caution, as was the vice president," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, adding it was the first time in the Obama presidency he had heard of such precautions being taken.

Two Air Force F-16 fighters and two Coast Guard helicopters intercepted the small aircraft at about 12:30 local time (1630 GMT), a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told AFP.

The pilot of the Piper Cub plane was contacted by radio and was immediately "compliant," Lieutenant Commander Gary Ross said.

The plane was escorted to a local airport about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of the capital, where the pilot was "met by local law enforcement," Ross said.

During the incident, the White House was temporarily on a "lockdown" security alert and the Secret Service shut down Lafayette Square adjacent to the presidential mansion.

The alert was lifted after about 10 minutes.

In the US Congress, a security alert lasted about 15 minutes and senators were asked to leave the chamber at one point, police said.

Security around the US capital was dramatically stepped up and restricted airspace expanded after September 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda agents flew hijacked airliners into the Pentagon and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

A fourth hijacked plane was believed headed toward Congress or the White House when it crashed in Pennsylvania following a revolt by the passengers.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CN...;show_article=1