1974 White House helicopter incident

1974 White House helicopter incident

A United States Army Bell UH-1 Iroquois ("Huey") helicopter of the type used in the incident.
Incident summary
Date February 17, 1974
Summary Stolen Aircraft
Site White House, Washington, D.C., United States
Crew 1
Injuries (non-fatal) 1
Aircraft type Bell UH-1 Iroquois
Operator United States Army
Flight origin Fort Meade, Maryland
Destination White House, Washington D.C.

On February 17, 1974 Robert K. Preston stole a helicopter and landed at the White House.

Incident

At 2 A.M. on February 17, 1974, Robert K. Preston, a United States Army private first class, stole a United States Army Bell UH-1 Iroquois ("Huey") helicopter from Fort Meade, Maryland, flew it to Washington, D.C. and hovered for six minutes over the White House before descending on the south lawn, about 100 yards from the West Wing.[1][2][3][4][5][6] There was no initial attempt from the Executive Protective Service to shoot the helicopter down, and he later took off and was chased by two Maryland State Police helicopters. Preston forced one of the police helicopters down through his maneuvering of the helicopter, and then returned to the White House. This time, as he hovered above the south grounds, the Executive Protective Service fired at him with shotguns and submachine guns. Preston was injured slightly, and landed his helicopter.[7]

In a plea bargain, he pleaded guilty to "wrongful appropriation and breach of the peace," and was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $2,400. This amounted to a six-month sentence, since he had already been in prison for six months at the time. He eventually served two months of hard labor at Fort Riley, Kansas, before being granted a general discharge from the Army for unsuitability.[8]

At the time of the incident, President Richard Nixon was travelling in Florida, and First Lady Pat Nixon was in Indianapolis, Indiana, visiting their sick daughter, Julie.[9]

Motivation of perpetrator

Preston was a 20-year-old private first class in the U.S. Army, stationed in Panama City, Florida. Although he was training to become a helicopter pilot, he abandoned the training due to "deficiency in the instrument phase". Preston had enrolled in the JROTC program at Rutherford High School in Panama City, Florida and had longtime aspirations to a military career. After being taken into custody Preston indicated he was upset over not being allowed to continue training to be a helicopter pilot, and staged the incident to show his skill as a pilot.

Influence

It has been suggested that news reports of Preston's actions inspired Samuel Byck to attempt to crash a passenger airplane into the White House on February 22, 1974. This implication has also been used as a plot device in the film dramatization of Byck's attempt, The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

Engagement policy

In 2005 there were several incidents when unidentified planes flew into the Washington DC airspace.[5] In comments on these incidents, Timothy Noah of National Public Radio reminded his audience of the 1974 Preston incident, when he suggested that Washington DC security officials had an unacknowledged policy to not fire on unidentified aircraft when doing so might lead to injuring bystanders on the ground. He pointed out that security officials had held their fire until Preston's helicopter was hovering low over the deserted South Lawn, where a crash would not have injured bystanders. "But here's the nub: Neither the Maryland police nor the Secret Service fired on the helicopter at any time when its downing threatened the lives of any bystanders."[5]

References

  1. ↑ Robert Kearns (1995-05-25). "'Jumpers' Have Intruded On White House For Years". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2009-12-03. In Februarym 1974, Army Private Robert Preston buzzed the White House grounds in a stolen helicopter and was shot down.
  2. ↑ "Guards fire on 'copter in White House drama". The Age. 1974-02-17. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  3. ↑ Robert Kearns (1994-09-12). "Uninvited guests are nothing new". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-12-03. But the Secret Service, assigned to protect the president, has become increasingly wary of aerial intruders since Feb. 17, 1974, when a disgruntled soldier hijacked a helicopter from Fort Meade, Md., and landed on the South Lawn just yards away from where the plane crashed on Monday.
  4. ↑ Ann McFeatters (2001-02-08). "Could Bush keep his campaign promise to reopen Pennsylvania Avenue? The White House has been scene of attacks before". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2009-12-03. Army Pvt. Rober Preston got further with a similar plan that year. He stole a helicopter from Fort Meade, Md., flew to the White House, touched down briefly near the West Wing, then flew back toward Fort Meade with Maryland State Police helicopters in pursuit, returned to the White House and was shot down on the South Lawn.
  5. 1 2 3 Timothy Noah (2005-05-12). "Slate's Chatterbox: The D.C. No-Fly, No-Shoot Zone". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2009-12-03. Back in February 1974, a flipped-out Army private named Robert K. Preston stole an Army helicopter, hovered over the White House for six minutes, landed on the South Grounds, flew off, then returned. The stolen helicopter did get shot at over the Mall by a Maryland State Police helicopter. Later, while it was hovering a mere 30 feet [9 m] above the unoccupied White House lawn, the Secret Service shot at it and forced it down. But here's the nub: Neither the Maryland police nor the Secret Service fired on the helicopter at any time when its downing threatened the lives of any bystanders.
  6. ↑ "Copter attacks White House". Daily Collegian. 1974-02-18. Retrieved 2009-12-03. Sewell, who had chased the helicopter in an erratic, stunt-filled flight through several Maryland suburbs and the capital city, said he thought the runaway pilot intended to "end it all" by crashing into the White House.
  7. ↑ PUBLIC REPORT OF THE WHITE HOUSE SECURITY REVIEW, Federation of American Scientists Archived December 2, 2006, at WebCite
  8. ↑ "Robert Preston". Kentucky New Era. 1974-10-24. p. 26. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  9. ↑ "Mental Observation Ordered For Pilot Of Stolen Helicopter". The Evening Independent. 1974-02-18. Retrieved 2009-12-03. Sewell said: 'What intrigues me was that through all of this there were only two Maryland helicopters in the air.' Asked about the apparent lack of protective measures against the helicopter, Jack Warner, the Secret Service's top spokesman, said only that 'the response speaks for itself.'

External links

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