Planes Meet F-16s In Kansas

Two small aircraft got an up-close encounter with fighter jets during President Bush’s visit to Kansas City last week. On Monday morning, an airplane nipped into the edge of the TFR while en route from Pittsburg, Kan., to rural Roosterville Airport, and was intercepted by two F-16s. The jets determined the airplane was not a threat but followed it till it landed, FAA officials told the Kansas City Star. On Tuesday morning, an airplane penetrated the restricted airspace, and F-16s again followed it until it landed. There is nothing unusual anymore about such events — “We have had to do this more than 1,600 times since 9/11,” Maj. Douglas Martin, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), told the Star. “Vigilance has to be maintained.”