Tripoli, Libya ? The sight of the white jet taxiing down the tarmac Sunday — the first U.S. military plane to touch down in Tripoli since 1969 — left no doubt that a pariah state was coming in from the cold after renouncing its nuclear weapons program.

In a landmark visit, seven U.S. Congress members emerged from the U.S. Navy jet and heaped praise on the recent reforms of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

“We’re very excited about opening this new chapter in our relations,” said Rep. Curt Weldon, a Republican from Pennsylvania.

The U.S. military aircraft was the first to touch down in Tripoli since 1969, when Gadhafi seized power. The delegation is expected to stay through this afternoon.

In the interim, American warplanes have flown only overhead, notably in 1986 when they launched attacks that killed 37 people in retaliation for a bombing that killed a U.S. soldier.

The United States imposed sanctions that year, accusing Libya of supporting terrorists. Ten years later, America said it would penalize the U.S. partners of European companies that did business in Libya and Iran.

Over the last year Gadhafi has made a startling turnaround. He admitted his country’s involvement in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, and agreed to pay $2.7 billion to the victims’ families.

He also admitted he had tried to develop weapons of mass destruction and invited U.N., American and British teams to inspect his weapons programs and dismantle them.

Gadhafi’s decisions followed months of secret negotiations with the United States and Britain.

“We are very happy that the representatives of the American people have come,” said Abdul-Latif al-Dali, of the Tripoli People’s Congress.