Plane over White House exposes chinks in security

The incident raised questions about the adequacy of the restricted airspace over downtown Washington. Some suggested that the space should be expanded, and that perhaps full-time combat patrols should be deployed over the capital.

But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer dismissed such concerns, saying that ‘‘multiple levels of protection’’ were in place to protect the executive mansion. He refused to provide details, such as whether anti-aircraft guns were positioned atop the White House — long a local legend.

‘‘There was never a threat to the President,’’ he said of Wednesday’s incident. Indeed, even as reporters in the West Wing and construction workers on the South Lawn were ordered to leave the grounds, Secret Service agents inside the White House saw fit to let Bush and his wife, Laura, alone.

The Bushes, who had returned moments earlier from a Republican fund-raiser across town, were not told of the potential threat, which was briefly declared after the small aircraft entered restricted airspace just before 8 p.m.

(LATWP)