How on Earth did he get so far?
That's what America is asking today after a pilot buzzed Washington D. C. in a one-man gyrocopter before coming to a soft landing on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol building.
"This is not good, people," shouted one bystander.
Pierre Thoms, Senior Justice Correspondent for ABC News reported, "It was an utter security failure, and sources say, a wake up call."
Even more troubling, the knucklehead on board had told a newspaper reporter in advance about his stunt, saying, "I'm going to land on the Capitol lawn."
Sixty-one-year-old Doug Hughes, a mailman for the U.S. Postal Service told the Tampa Bay Times his crazy stunt was intended to bring attention to campaign finance reform.
"I'm not suidical. I'm not going to commit suicide and I'm not going to fly into any monuments," said Hughes.
Hughes took off from Gettysburg, PA., and incredibly went undetected through a no-fly zone bristling with anti-aircraft missiles, the so-called P-56 Zone.
He flew past the White House, past the Washington Monument, along the National Mall. Video show hughes flying past the White House. He came shockingly close to some of America's most precious landmarks.
As he came in for a landing, just a few feet off the ground, a witness said, "What just happened?" One tourist caught the dramatic moment his stunt reached its climax.
Law enforcement raced to the site the moment the aircraft landed. Hughes was taken into custody as the bomb squad checked out the gyrocopter.
In the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery flies a gyrocopter that's heavily armed.
Hughes was actually interviewed by the Secret Service a year ago after getting a tip, reportedly from a family member that he was planning something crazy.
Ben Montgomery, the reporter for the Tampa Bay Times newspaper is now coming under fire because Hughes told him in advance what he was planning.
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos asked Montgomery, "Did you feel any responsibility to tell authorities this was coming?"
"He said he was going to do this whether we were there or not. The authorities knew," said Montgomery.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1HxFDk6
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