WASHINGTON, June 20: The White House was evacuated briefly on Wednesday evening after a small plane with two people on board entered restricted airspace.

The plane, a single-engine Cessna, flew 6.5 kilometres from the White House at an altitude of 3,050 metres, some 2,440 metres lower than allowed.

The plane, which was flying from Massachusetts to Raleigh, North Carolina, was escorted by F-16 fighter jets to Richmond, Virginia, about 160kms south of here, where its pilot and passenger were questioned by federal agents, officials said.

The pilot could face fines, a letter of reprimand or licence revocation, said a Federal Aviation Authority spokeswoman.

The CNN said the pilot mistakenly entered restricted airspace when he tried to avoid bad weather over the capital.

The plane and its occupants were allowed to resume their flight after they were questioned, CNN said. Around 25 to 30 journalists were asked by secret service agents to leave the White House grounds as a precautionary measure by around 8.20pm (6.20am PST on Thursday).

Twenty minutes later some 20 journalists were allowed back into the White House press room.

President George W. Bush had returned to the White House shortly before the alert from a fund-raising event at the Washington Convention Center.

Since the Sept 11 attacks, air security around the White House has been considerably tightened. Ronald Reagan National Airport was closed for several months after the kamikaze attack on the Pentagon.—AFP