It's been a busy weekend for the North American Air Defense Command. At least three aircraft have violated the temporary flight restriction covering President Obama's South Side home since Friday.
In the most recent, F-16 fighter jets intercepted a Cessna 150 aircraft and forced the pilot to land in at Lewis University Airfield in Romeoville.
On Saturday, a Cessna 152 "barely encroached" into the restricted area and was met by a Dolphin helicopter and escorted to Schaumburg Airport, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Two NORAD F-15 fighters intercepted an RV-8 small aircraft on Friday evening and forced the pilot to land in Aurora.
The temporary restricted flight area is a standard procedure whenever the president is in an area.
Similar to when Obama visited last year, the center of the restricted area is near the lakeshore on the South Side, extending up to 30 nautical miles from that point, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. All airspace up to 18,000 feet above the ground is included in the area.
Previous proposals for airspace restrictions included a three-mile no-fly zone around the Obama's home in Hyde Park when he's not there, expanding to a 10-mile no-fly zone when he is in the home. Many pilots said those restrictions covered too much of the metro area.
The first family is in Chicago for the Memorial Day weekend. The Obamas are scheduled to return to Washington on Monday evening.
In an April, 2009 incident, the president was briefly relocated when a small plane briefly flew into the restricted airspace around the White House.
