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Army Skydiving Team Airplane Triggers Capitol Security Scare and Evacuation

The U.S. Army Golden Knights are one of only three Department of Defense-sanctioned aerial demonstration teams, along with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. [Courtesy: U.S. Army]
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Key Takeaways:

What began as a scheduled pre-game parachute jump by the U.S. Army Golden Knights team into Nationals Field in Washington, D.C., is now the focus of an FAA investigation.

An apparent miscommunication among agencies led to a brief evacuation of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday evening after Capitol Police spotted an unidentified aircraft flying nearby in the flight restricted zone, or FRZ, over Washington. Police later determined the plane was carrying the Golden Knights, and that while the parachute demonstration was a scheduled event, their department had not been notified, officials said.

Jonathan Welsh

Jonathan Welsh is Lead Editor of Aviation Consumer and a private pilot who worked as a reporter, editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal for 21 years, mostly covering the auto industry. His passion for aviation began in childhood with balsa-wood gliders his aunt would buy for him at the corner store. Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanWelsh4

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