They really dropped the ball.
The Federal Aviation Administration has apologized for failing to alert DC authorities that an Army parachute team would fly over Nationals Park during a baseball game – a colossal mistake that led to a security alert and the evacuation of the Capitol.
“We deeply regret contributing to a precautionary evacuation of the Capitol Complex and apologize for the disruption and fear felt by those working there,” the FAA said in a statement late Friday.
The agency also said it was “taking immediate steps to ensure that we always coordinate well in advance with other agencies to avoid confusion about future aviation events in the Washington area, DC”.
The FAA never told Capitol police that a small plane would fly over the stadium in very tight airspace Wednesday night shortly before the first pitch of a Washington Nationals game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The plane was dropping off members of the US Army’s Golden Knights, who parachuted into Nationals Park for military appreciation night.
Unaware of the plane’s mission, members of Congress fled the Capitol and House and Senate office buildings. Capitol police also reportedly evacuated other nearby buildings.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, promised a congressional review of the FAA’s actions, which she called “outrageous and inexcusable.”
With post wires.
New York Post