FAA failure to tell Capitol of parachute stunt led to alert

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to notify Capitol Police about a parachute stunt at a nearby baseball stadium led to an alert and urgent evacuation of the U.S. Capitol, a law enforcement official says. The FAA is reviewing the communications breakdown, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is promising a congressional review. The communications lapse led police to think an aircraft carrying military parachutists for a baseball stadium stunt was “a probable threat,” prompting the alert Wednesday evening to evacuate the complex. Many people who work at the Capitol still are on edge more than a year after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.