US Military Unaware Gyrocopter Violated DC Airspace Before Landing Near Capitol Building
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Gary Blakeley/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The United States military says it was unaware that an aircraft had flown into restricted airspace over Washington, D.C., Wednesday and was only alerted of its presence after it landed.
Just before 2 p.m. ET, ABC News reported a Florida man was arrested after landing his gyrocopter on the West lawn of the United States Capitol building.
The United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the military organizations responsible for protecting the capital region airspace, say they never saw it. “There was no NORAD involvement,” said spokesman Michael Kucharek. He deferred questions about who may have detected it first to the U.S. Capitol Police and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Kucharek said the military has MH-65 helicopters on standby at all times in Washington, D.C., for the specific purpose of intercepting slow-moving aircraft, yet none were sent.
It appears the man who piloted the aircraft is the same individual who spoke to the Tampa Bay Times about his intent to fly his gyrocopter to Capitol Hill and deliver 535 letters — one addressed to each member of Congress — calling for campaign finance reform. In an online interview with the paper, Dough Hughes said he is a postman, not a terrorist, and that he did not intend to harm anyone, including himself.
But the incident raises questions as to why no one was able to intercept him before he gained access to the Capitol grounds, particularly if the news media knew about the flight beforehand.
In additional to the media’s knowledge, sources say law enforcement, including a Secret Service officer, interviewed Hughes last year after learning he may have been planning something for the future.
In an interview with ABC’s Jim Avila, Tampa Bay Times reporter Ben Montgomery claimed he informed the United States Secret Service ahead of time about Hughes’ plan to land a helicopter on the Capitol.
Whether authorities had prior knowledge of the plan, Kucharek was skeptical that an aircraft that small could have flown undetected into the restricted airspace. Kucharek said no one should rule out the possibility that Hughes launched the aircraft from within the restricted airspace, possibly explaining why he went unnoticed.
Investigators are still trying to determine where the flight originated, and if it’s discovered he came from outside Washington, the military may have more questions to answer.
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