Violation of airspace around Obama’s plane scrambles fighter jets that cause sonic booms in WA

Fighters sent after violation of Air Force 1 space

SEATTLE — A passenger aboard a float plane headed for Lake Washington says it violated the airspace around Air Force One while President Obama was in Seattle.

That caused the military to scramble fighter jets. Sonic booms from the Air National Guard F-15s startled many people throughout the Puget Sound area.

Kenmore Air president Todd Banks says the incursion was by a plane that landed at his float plane base on nearby Lake Washington. A passenger, Laura Joseph of Normandy Park, told The Associated Press she and the pilot were returning from Lake Chelan in eastern Washington and didn’t know of the flight restrictions.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command says the plane left the restricted area before the jets arrived and there was no intercept.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. military says fighter jets were scrambled to respond to an airspace violation near Air Force One in Seattle.

North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman John Cornelio says the jets were sent from Portland, Oregon, as President Obama was visiting Seattle after a report that an aircraft violated the restricted airspace Tuesday. He says the aircraft left the restricted area before the Air National Guard jets arrived, and there was no intercept.

Two loud noises, apparently sonic booms, were felt throughout the Puget Sound area.

Obama was in Seattle to stump for Sen. Patty Murray on a three-day campaign swing for endangered Democrats.

Cornelio said the fighters were from the Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer in Seattle says the fighters were F-15s. He did not immediately know what type of plane violated the no-fly zone.