WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials say an airliner pilot inadvertently turned his radio to the wrong frequency, leading the plane to lose radio contact and prompting the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters says the agency is reviewing the “pilot readback error.” The loss of radio contact as the plane approached the nation’s capital led officials to dispatch fighter jets and also evacuate all House and Senate office buildings.
The FAA said Piedmont Airlines flight 4352 from Hilton Head, S.C., was on course for Reagan National Airport when it lost radio contact with air traffic controllers at a regional radar facility in Virginia for about 15 minutes.
The evacuation order was issued around 1:30 p.m. and was called off about a half-hour later when the plane landed.
