Pilot in Custody After Small Aircraft Lands on Capitol Lawn
WASHINGTON – April 15, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) — Police arrested a man who steered his one-person helicopter onto the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday. The move surprised spring tourists and prompted a temporary lockdown of the Capitol Visitor Center.
A Florida postal carrier named Doug Hughes took responsibility for the stunt on a website where he said he was delivering letters to all 535 members of Congress in order to draw attention to campaign finance corruption.
“As I have informed the authorities, I have no violent inclinations or intent,” Hughes wrote on his website, thedemocracyclub.org. “An ultralight aircraft poses no major physical threat — it may present a political threat to graft. I hope so. There’s no need to worry — I’m just delivering the mail.”
Downtown Washington is blanketed by restrictions on air traffic that generally prohibit aircraft from flying over the White House, the Capitol, the national Mall and key buildings without special permission.
