Fighter Jets Intercept Unresponsive Plane Near Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- Authorities scrambled two jetfighters after the pilot of a small plane didn't answer the radio along the coast near Atlantic City.

Lt. Commander Gary Ross of the North American Aerospace Defense Command says the Cessna was flying from Currituck, N.C., to Bar Harbor, Maine.

Ross says the Federal Aviation Administration became concerned when the pilot didn't respond to air traffic controllers around 4:10 p.m. Thursday. President Barack Obama was in Manhattan at the time.

Two F-16s from the Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing, based near Atlantic City International Airport, flew near the plane and the pilot responded.

Ross says the pilot apparently had the radio turned off or had the volume too low to hear it.

The name and hometown of the pilot were not released.