KEY POINTS:
Two F/A-18 fighter jets fired flares at a light plane after it flew into restricted airspace over Sydney yesterday, sparking a security scare on the last day of the Apec leaders' summit.
The Cessna was intercepted by jets and fired upon as it flew over Penrith on its way to Bankstown, in Sydney's west, after initially failing to respond to radio warning calls.
Contact was eventually established with the plane and it was escorted to Bankstown Airport.
An Airservices Australia spokesman said the incursion had never posed a threat to the world leaders attending the Apec summit.
"The pilot, obviously, was not listening up at that particular time and because of the situation in regard to Apec, Defence was advised by Airservices," the spokesman said.
The spokesman defended the involvement of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which he said was in accordance with tightened security measures brought in for the week-long summit.
Restricted airspace in force for the summit covers a radius of 45 nautical miles around Sydney Airport. The ADF said the incident was proof of the effectiveness of its security.
-AAP
