NORAD dispatched two fighter jets Saturday night to intercept a civilian aircraft that flew into D.C.'s restricted airspace.
The aircraft was not communicating with air traffic control when it entered the special flight rules area, NORAD says.
Two F-16 fighter jets were dispatched. Before the suspicious aircraft was intercepted, its pilot regained communication with air traffic controllers and diverted to the nearest airport, NORAD said.
More than a dozen Rockville and Gaithersburg residents called NBC4 to report the sound of low-flying jets.
Airspace in and around the Beltway is the most restricted in the country, the Federal Aviation Administration says. The special flight rules area extends to a 30 mile radius around Reagan National Airport.
NORAD is in charge of monitoring the skies over the U.S. and Canada.
