On March 12, 2008, two F-16 Fighting Falcons and a Coast Guard helicopter under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted a small Cessna aircraft flying through the Temporary Flight Restriction zone over the National Capitol Region.

The civilian aircraft was alerted by the Visual Warning System after entering the TFR from the north and the pilot turned west to leave the restricted area. The fighters intercepted the aircraft and escorted it to a landing facility in Leesburg, Va.

The Visual Warning System was designed to warn pilots who are violating the Air Defense Identification Zone established by the Federal Aviation Administration over Washington, D.C. VWS is a ground-based system that uses safety-tested low-level beams of alternating green and red lights to alert pilots that they are flying without approval in designated airspace. It provides a clear warning to pilots who enter the ADIZ without authorization and cannot be contacted on radio by air traffic control.

The visual warning will only respond to aircraft that are unauthorized or unidentified and unresponsive and the VWS prompts immediate action by the pilot to contract air traffic control and exit the ADIZ.