The Time a Stolen Helicopter Landed on the White House Lawn
The story of Robert Preston’s wild ride.

By Christopher Freeze
AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE | SUBSCRIBE
APRIL 2017

"Landing a helicopter on the White House lawn is a rare privilege, usually reserved for only the most experienced and trusted pilots, but in 1974, a 20-year-old private first class with 157 hours, no rotor-wing certificate, and a wrecked love life decided to take a run at it—while being chased by police and shot at by the Secret Service..."

Complete article:

https://www.airspacemag.com/hi...ouse-ride-180962400/



Twenty years later, in a similar but totally separate incident, a different pilot died when he crashed a stolen Cessna 150 onto the South Lawn:

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/0...nto-white-house.html

https://www.politico.com/story...-sept-12-1994-813433
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Eugene_Corder

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

Wow, I never heard that story before.

I was stationed at Willow Grove in the PA Air National Guard for six years from 2002 to 2008 and never noticed that Huey sitting there anywhere. Maybe it had been moved by that point.

They'd blow it out of the sky now !

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

in 1974, a 20-year-old private first class with 157 hours, no rotor-wing certificate . . . Twenty years later, the pilot died when he crashed a stolen Cessna 150 onto the South Lawn

I have edited to cut a lot out, for brevity, but when I first looked at the complete post, it appeared that the two incidents involved the same pilot, first with the helicopter, then twenty years later with the Cessna.

Nope, I had to look at the linked articles to discover that these were two separate pilots, no link between them other than landing / crashing at the White House.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

in 1974, a 20-year-old private first class with 157 hours, no rotor-wing certificate . . . Twenty years later, the pilot died when he crashed a stolen Cessna 150 onto the South Lawn

I have edited to cut a lot out, for brevity, but when I first looked at the complete post, it appeared that the two incidents involved the same pilot, first with the helicopter, then twenty years later with the Cessna.

Nope, I had to look at the linked articles to discover that these were two separate pilots, no link between them other than landing / crashing at the White House.

Gee, it looked great when I first posted the links! But seriously folks, V-Tail is spot on, I've edited my OP.

In 2015, an ex-postal worker landed a gyrocopter on the white house lawn. He got four months in prison.

Mattias Rust, who landed a Cessna 172 in Red Square, at the Kremlin, got 4 years.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
In 2015, an ex-postal worker landed a gyrocopter on the white house lawn. He got four months in prison.

Mattias Rust, who landed a Cessna 172 in Red Square, at the Kremlin, got 4 years.

It was the Capital grounds, not the WH, where the gyrocopter landed. He got four months.

https://www.usatoday.com/story...ths-prison/83271738/

More on Mattias Rust landing his 172 in Red Square:

https://www.airspacemag.com/hi...athias-rust-7101888/

Capitol.