Aircraft causes brief US Capitol evacuation

Plane was carrying US Army’s Golden Knights, who were parachuting into Nationals stadium before game

A member of the US Army parachute team the Golden Knights descends into National Park in Washington on April 20. AP

The US Capitol Police said on Wednesday there was no threat to the Capitol complex in Washington, minutes after saying they were tracking an aircraft that posed a probable threat to the seat of the Congress.

“The Capitol was evacuated out of an abundance of caution this evening. There is no threat at the Capitol,” the police said.

The plane turned out to be a military aircraft carrying an Army parachute team jumping on to the nearby Nationals stadium, officials told AP.

The aircraft, a single-engine plane, was reported to be circling around Washington after taking off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, sources said.

The US Capitol was briefly evacuated after police said they were tracking an aircraft 'that poses a probable threat', but it turned out to be a military aircraft with people parachuting out of it for the Washington Nationals game, officials told AP. AP

The sources claimed the aircraft did not report taking off and did not have appropriate clearance. .

The plane was carrying members of the US Army’s Golden Knights, who parachuted into the Washington Nationals’ baseball stadium for a pre-game demonstration.

Nationals Park is about 1.5 kilometres away from the Capitol.

Capitol police were preparing buildings for re-entry and a final update will be provided later on Wednesday, they said.

News agencies contributed to this report