March fighters respond to infraction by general aviation aircraft over L.A.

  • Published
  • By NORAD News
  • 452 AMW/PA
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  Two F-16 fighters under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted a general aviation aircraft in the vicinity of Los Angeles shortly after 11 a.m., Feb. 16.

Two F-16 fighters scrambled out of March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California, to respond to a temporary flight restriction violation by a Cessna 182 aircraft over Los Angeles. After intercepting the aircraft, the F-16s followed it until it landed without incident at approximately 11:30 p.m, where the plane was met by local law enforcement. The aircraft land-ed safely at Long Beach Airport.

NORAD's mission -- in close collaboration with homeland defense, security, and law enforcement partners -- is to prevent air attacks against North America, safeguard the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating with-in these airspaces, and provide aerospace and maritime warning for North America. NORAD may be required to monitor, shadow, divert from flight path, direct to land and/or destroy platforms deemed a potential threat to North America.

NORAD is the bi-national Canadian and American command that is responsible for the air defense of North America and maritime warning. The command has three subordinate regional headquarters: the Alaskan NORAD Region at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; the Canadian NORAD Region at Winnipeg, Manitoba; and the Continental NORAD Region at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. The command is poised both tactically and strategically in our nation's capital to provide a multilayered defense to detect, deter and prevent potential threats flying over the air-space of the United States and Canada.

Information Source: NORAD News