Pilot of mini helicopter arrested after Capitol scare
Print Edition
An anti-corruption protester has been arrested after he landed his mini helicopter on the United States Capitol lawn on Wednesday and piloted it through Washington’s no-fly zone, triggering a national security investigation and shocking bystanders.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the incident along with other US authorities, adding that the pilot was not in touch with air traffic controllers while in the air.
“The FAA did not authorize him to enter restricted airspace,” the agency said in a statement.
The pilot, Douglas Hughes, was detained and illegal transport charges are pending against him, US Capitol Police said.
Hughes is a Florida man who was conducting civil disobedience to call for campaign finance reform, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which had interviewed and filmed him prior to his audacious flight.
Air space is severely restricted around Washington landmarks, including the White House and the Capitol, which houses the US Congress whose 535 lawmakers were in session at the time.
A bomb squad inspected the gyrocopter, which landed a few hundred meters from the Capitol, but found nothing hazardous. It was cleared from the grounds hours later.
Authorities reportedly put the building on temporary lockdown, although it was not evacuated. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was in the Capitol at the time for a meeting with senators.
Witness Rachel Jackman said she was alarmed after the incident.
“Within minutes, the entire area was shut down. I mean, there were probably 30 or 40 Capitol police there,” she said.
The breach during tourist season was the second air security scare this year in the US capital.
In January, an intelligence agency employee lost control of a drone and crashed it on the White House lawn, prompting a Secret Service investigation.
President Barack Obama was briefed about Wednesday’s incident, the White House said.
Air defense command NORAD said it became aware of the incident only after the gyrocopter landed. Spokesman Major Jamie Humphries said an investigation is under way to determine if it was detected by radar and why officials were unaware of it while it was in the air.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
