The intrusion into restricted airspace over the nation’s capital that led to an urgent evacuation of both the White House and the U.S. Capitol appears to have been accidental, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said late Wednesday afternoon.

The two pilots responsible for the scare won’t be charged, officials said.

Maryland state police were waiting on the ground Wednesday when the small plane that flew to within 3 miles of the White House landed under fighter and military helicopter escort in Fredrick, Md.

Relatives and friends said the two men aboard the plane were flying to an air show in North Carolina.

The alert level at the White House was raised briefly Wednesday to red because of the approaching plane, whose pilot was not responding to radio warnings about the airspace violation.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland as officials ordered rapid evacuations of the White House and the U.S. Capitol.

The pilots of the fighters fired four warning flares to get the attention of the errant pilot, said public affairs officer Air Force Master Sgt. Arthur Powell.

The fighters then escorted the small plane to Fredrick, Md., the North American Aerospace Defense Command said.

A Blackhawk helicopter assigned to the Department of Homeland Security also followed the plane to Maryland, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

President Bush was in Maryland riding his bicycle at the time of the incident, but Vice President Dick Cheney was at the White House and was evacuated by motorcade.

First Lady Laura Bush and former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who is staying in the White House while in Washington to attend a fundraiser, were moved to a secure area, McClellan said.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the airspace over the capital has been tightly controlled.

The government established an Air Defense Identification Zone 30-miles in diameter around Reagan Washington National Airport and a Flight Restricted Zone within an inner area that’s 15-miles in diameter.

Pilots in the defense identification zone must be in communication with air traffic controllers and most transmit four-digit identifier codes as well as take other steps to let controllers know their identities and intentions.