The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Saturday afternoon when a small aircraft entered restricted airspace , authorities said . The evacuation was ordered after authorities were unable to immediately contact the pilot , U.S. Capitol Police said . NORAD says two F-16 fighter jets intercepted the plane around 1:30 p.m. after it entered restricted airspace and was out of communication with air traffic control . The jets escorted the plane to the airport in Mount Airy , North Carolina , where the pilot was met by members of law enforcement . A U.S. official told CNN that the pilot 's destination was Mount Airy , where he was going to meet his daughter . The source says the pilot said his outdated maps caused him some confusion . There was one other person in plane . No security issues , just a pilot deviation , Ross Feinstein , the Press Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration , tweeted . Staff and visitors were allowed back inside the Capitol after about a half hour . Also evacuated during the scare was the Library of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court buildings , the Metropolitan Police said . Federal Aviation Administration officials told CNN there will be an investigation into why the pilot entered the restricted airspace without authorization . The incident prompted authorities to institute an AIRCON RED -- air condition red -- alert , police told CNN . The alert is triggered when an aircraft enters restricted airspace in Washington without authorization . Visitors to Washington got unexpected excitement . `` We were touring around in one of the rooms in the Capitol , '' said Victoria Chandler . `` And the tour guide all of a sudden got very frantic and started telling us to evacuate the building and go down the steps . `` I grabbed two of the youngest girls and my mother got me and we started running down the stairs . We got outside and a man told us to run as far as we could because it was not a drill . '' Richard Chapin was also in the Capitol . `` We just got in there , like I said , we were excited to see it , '' he said . `` Now we 've got a story to tell . We were evacuated out of the Capitol building . '' It 's not the first time such an alert has been issued . The Capitol was briefly cleared and the White House was temporarily locked down when a single-engine plane wandered into restricted airspace in April 2009 . It was also evacuated in January 2011 when a commercial airliner accidentally entered restricted airspace . Authorities : Georgia courthouse attacker prepared to inflict mayhem . Wild car chase ends with suspect shot to death near U.S. Capitol . President 's restricted airspace violated three times in less than 24 hours .
NORAD jets escort the plane to airport in Mount Airy , U.S. . North Carolina Capitol , the Library of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court evacuated , police said . The evacuation was ordered after authorities were unable to immediately contact the pilot . The Congress is looking into why the pilot entered restricted airspace without authorization .