Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/452792
ByJoshLedermanand Joan Lowy The Associated Press WASHINGTON A two- foot-long drone appar- ently flown by a hobby- ist crashed on the White House grounds Monday in an extraordinary, if unin- tended, breach that raised fresh questions about the president's security — and a growing threat from the sky. A man later came for- ward to say he was re- sponsible for the mishap in the middle of the night and hadn't meant to fly the drone over the complex, of- ficials said. "Initial indica- tions are that this incident occurred as a result of rec- reational use of the device," said Secret Service spokes- man Brian Leary. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were overseas when the quad- copter struck the south- east side of the grounds at about 3 a.m. Daughters Sa- sha and Malia stayed be- hind in Washington; it was not known whether they were at the mansion. Officials believed the in- trusion to be the first of its kind on the White House grounds, although not the first in the vicinity. Low-flying drones like the quadcopter — a craft lifted by four propellers — have become increasingly sophisticated and afford- able instruments that au- thorities worry could also become tools for terror- ists or others meaning to do harm. Police, fire and other emergenc y vehicles swarmed the White House just after the crash, with several clustered near the southeast entrance to the grounds. The White House was dark and the entire pe- rimeter was on lockdown until around 5 a.m. when those who work there were allowed inside. After daylight, more than a dozen Secret Service offi- cers fanned out in a search across the White House lawn as snow began to fall. They peered down in the grass and used flashlights to look through the large bushes that line the drive- way on the south side of the mansion. The breach was bound to reinvigorate a long-running public debate about the use of commercial drones in U.S. skies — as well as con- cerns about White House security. At the urging of the drone industry, the Obama administration is on the verge of proposing rules for drone operations that would replace an exist- ing ban on most commer- cial flights. Although remote-con- trolled airplanes and re- lated toys have been avail- able for decades, the recent proliferation of inexpensive drones has prompted grow- ing fears about potential collisions with traditional aircraft. Technological advances have also made it easier to equip drones with ad- vanced capabilities such as cameras, raising privacy issues as well as concerns that such devices could be used by terrorists to carry weapons. The Federal Aviation Ad- ministration receives re- ports across the country nearly every day of drones operating near manned air- craft and airports or over densely populated areas, in- cluding previous incidents near the White House. In one, police arrested a man in August who got stuck in a tree at Freedom Plaza, several blocks from the White House, after he climbed up to retrieve his small drone, according a compilation of recent inci- dents by the FAA. In July, a Secret Service patrol detained someone flying a small quadcopter near the White House and confiscated it. Other un- authorized drone flights have been reported near Andrews Air Force Base, used by presidential air- craft, near Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, near the Lincoln Memorial and over FedEx Field in Mary- land outside the city. Many small quadcopters are used for commercial op- erations like aerial photog- raphy and inspections as well as by hobbyists. Often weighing only a few pounds, they sell for as little as a few hundred dollars or less, and were popular Christmas gifts last year. Whether a quadcopter can carry and fire a weapon depends upon how robust the drone is and how light- weight the weapon, industry experts say. Most commer- cially manufactured quad- copters are small, weighing 2 to 5 pounds and measur- ing 1 to 3 feet in length. Paul McDuffee, vice pres- ident at drone-maker In- situ, said of the device that crashed: "Something of that size is going to be very lim- ited in terms of what it can carry, probably down to a few ounces in payload." Even so, a small drone at low altitude is hard to in- tercept. "There's probably noth- ing they have that could stop it, particularly at night," said James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The sniper would be shoot- ing at the drone and his bul- lets would be going past it into the buildings on Con- necticut Avenue. If it's a cri- sis or emergency, sure, that makes sense, but what goes up comes down, and that includes bullets." The episode joins a string of recent security breaches at the White House. Four high-ranking ex- ecutives were recently re- assigned, and Julia Pier- son was forced to resign as director last year after a Texas man armed with a knife was able to get over a White House fence and run into the mansion before be- ing subdued. FLIGHT MISHAP DronecrashesatWhiteHouse;hobbyistsaysit'shis USSECRETSERVICE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The drone that crashed onto the White House grounds is shown on Monday. By Julie Pace The Associated Press NEW DELHI As President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi this week, the shadow of a third player hung over the talks: neighboring China, which has complicated relation- ships with both the United States and India. To Obama, forging deeper ties with India fits in neatly with his efforts to deepen U.S. influence in countries on China's door- step. And as the world's largest democracy, India is a particularly attractive partner to the U.S. as it seeks to cultivate a robust regional counterbalance to communist China. India and China are os- tensibly allies, and Modi warmly welcomed Chi- nese President Xi Jinping to New Delhi last year. But India is also worried about China's maneuver- ing in the region— partic- ularly in the Indian Ocean and at the Himalayan bor- der between the two coun- tries — and sees fostering improved relations with the U.S. as key to bolstering its own defense posture. "There is a triangular game in play from Delhi's point of view," said Ashley Tellis, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Modi wants "all of the benefits that come from being seen as working in close collab- oration with the United States," including access to American technology, ex- pertise and military coop- eration, said Tellis. The U.S. and India have each cast Obama's three- day visit to New Delhi as a symbol of their efforts to strengthen a relation- ship that has been plagued by tension and suspicion. Obama is the first U.S. leader to visit India twice as president, and the first to be honored as the chief guest at India's annual Re- public Day parade. Obama and Modi sat side-by-side Monday in a glass-enclosed viewing box as Indian tanks and rocket launchers rolled by and fighter jets sped across the sky overhead. The president later convened a meeting of U.S. and Indian business ex- ecutives, a gathering aimed at bolstering economic co- operation between the two countries. Obama's trip didn't go unnoticed in China, where foreign ministry spokes- woman Hua Chunying said U.S.-India relations "could promote mutual trust and cooperation in the region." But the state-run news agency Xinhua dismissed Obama's visit as "more symbolic than pragmatic, given the long-standing di- vision between the two gi- ants, which may be as huge as the distance between them." Commentary in China's government-controlled me- dia is frequently used as a means of criticizing or cast- ing doubt on the diplomatic moves of other countries. When asked about the Chinese take, Obama's dep- uty national security ad- viser Ben Rhodes said, "It's notable that they should feel like they have to go out of their way to comment on this visit." The subtle jab under- scored the complexity of the dynamic between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest economies. Obama's visit to Beijing in November generated a surprising amount of con- sensus on a range of is- sues, including an ambi- tious agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions that the White House hopes will push nations like India toward similar pacts. But Washington has deep con- cerns about Beijing's ac- tions on such matters as re- gional territorial disputes, computer hacking and cur- rency manipulation. India is particularly con- cerned about China's quiet quest for greater influ- ence in the Indian Ocean, which has long been New Delhi's domain. The tank- ers that move through the Indian Ocean are critical for India's oil supply, and any significant slowdown in tanker traffic could crip- ple its economy. India is also concerned about the Chinese troops that regu- larly move across its un- marked Himalayan border with China. Rahul Bedi, an ana- lyst for Jane's Information Group, said India's goal within the next two decades is to develop military capa- bilities that would enable them to take on China. "India can't do that on its own, so we need some- body like America to hold our hand," Bedi said. Obama and Modi agreed to extend a 10-year de- fense pact that the White House said would allow for deeper military-to-military engagement and increase maritime cooperation. Pen- tagon chief Chuck Hagel said a defense partnership between the U.S. and India "will help forge security and stability in Asia and across the globe." ASIA POWER POLITICS China's shadow looms over visit to India SAURABH DAS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama, right applauds as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets the audience during the India-U.S business summit in New Delhi, India, on Monday. PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thank you! By Rachel D'oro The Associated Press Two small planes ran out of fuel and crash- landed into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii, with one nose-diving before leveling out and drifting down to the water beneath a mas- sive parachute. The five people aboard the planes survived after dramatic rescues, author- ities said. In one of the crashes, the pilot put down the air- craft near a cruise ship and was pulled aboard amid giant waves. The National Transpor- tation Safety Board said Monday it is investigat- ing the separate incidents, which occurred Sunday. One of the planes, a sin- gle-engine aircraft car- rying only a pilot, crash- landed about 250 miles off Maui. The other plane was carrying four people and went down several miles off Oahu. NTSB investigator Josh Cawthra said both planes sank, and he didn't know if they would be recovered. He said he had not yet spo- ken with either pilot and had few other details. Dramatic Coast Guard video shows the plane car- rying just the pilot — a Cir- rus SR22 traveling from California to Maui — as it releases its parachute. The plane drops nose-first and then levels out and plops into the sea. The pilot escapes out the top of the aircraft and drifts away in a small raft. The SR22 pilot travel- ing from Tracy, Califor- nia, radioed authorities at 12:30 p.m. about plans to ditch the plane because of dwindling fuel. The plane has a range of about 1,200 miles — only half the dis- tance to Maui — but it was equipped with an auxiliary fuel system, according to Cawthra. The Coast Guard di- rected the plane to go down near a cruise ship, and the pilot deployed the parachute system around 4:45 p.m. and safely got into a life raft. Amid 9- to 12-foot seas and winds of 25 to 28 mph, the cruise- ship crew rescued the pi- lot, who was in good condi- tion, authorities said. Parachutes are stan- dard equipment on the SR22, and all other air- craft manufactured by Du- luth, Minnesota-based Cir- rus Aircraft, according to company spokesman Ben Kowalski. He said parachutes have been deployed on Cirrus aircrafts in 51 incidents, and are responsible for saving a total of 104 lives, including the pilot in Sun- day's crash. Kowalski said he was not at liberty to identify the pilot, an agent who was en route to Australia to deliver the aircraft to an owner. The SR22's starting price is listed at $499,900. In a second crash Sun- day, a single-engine Cessna flying from Kauai to Oahu with four people aboard declared an emergency at 6:18 p.m., saying fuel was running low and the plane might need to ditch, the Coast Guard said. It crash-landed about 11 miles west of Oahu, and a Coast Guard helicopter rescued three adults and one child. 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