China News Service, April 22. According to the ABC report, on the evening of the 20th local time, an American plane entered the airspace near the Capitol and triggered an alarm, causing the American Capitol Police to issue an emergency evacuation order.
The incident is believed to be an oolong caused by the "momentary negligence" of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), because the aircraft's application to fly has been approved by the FAA, but the Capitol has not been informed of the authorized flight by the FAA.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In response, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), calling the incident an "outrageous and terrible mistake" by the FAA for failing to inform Congressional police of plans to fly to Nationals Stadium in advance .
Pelosi also said the incident "inflicted harm" on Capitol staff in particular, as they continue to be affected by the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
She said Congress will thoroughly investigate the incident, as well as the FAA staff responsible for it.
At 6:30 p.m. local time on the 20th, the US Capitol police found an "unidentified" plane within a few seconds of the Capitol and then issued an evacuation order.
It was later confirmed that the plane was a military aircraft carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachuting team, who were performing a parachute mission at Nationals Field in Washington, D.C., as part of a celebration.
But due to miscommunication between the FAA and Capitol Police, the plane's mission was deemed "potentially a security threat to Congress."
On April 20, local time, members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachuted into Washington National Stadium, which is only about 1 mile (about 1.6 kilometers) from the Capitol.
In a statement released on the 21st local time, the US Capitol said, "Once we determine that the flight was not authorized, we will follow Marine Corps policies and procedures to immediately evacuate personnel from the Capitol."
The last time the Capitol was evacuated due to a potential aerial threat was in 2014, the statement said, adding that an evacuation was by no means an easy decision.
On the other hand, a U.S. Army spokesman said in a statement on the 21st local time that the Army submitted all required documents for this military flight activity and obtained approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before flying in the airspace of the Capitol area. .
"The pilot maintained communication with the FAA prior to and throughout the operation," the statement added.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on the 21st that it would "take seriously its responsibility to protect the nation's airspace", adding that it "will conduct a thorough and expeditious review of the events that occurred on the 20th and publish the results of the investigation."
The agency added: "We know that our actions affect others, especially in the Capital Region, and we must remain in communication with our law enforcement partners as soon as possible."