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Gyrocopter Pilot Appears In Court; Judge Bans Him From D.C.
mpicpp writes The Florida mail carrier accused of landing a gyrocopter outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was charged in federal court Thursday and has been barred from returning to the District of Columbia or flying any aircraft, officials said. Douglas Hughes, 61, was charged with violating aircraft registration requirements, a felony, and violating national defense airspace, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison for the felony and one year in prison for the airspace violation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson also barred Hughes from the District of Columbia, except for court appearances, and said he must stay away from the Capitol, White House and nearby areas while he is there. He will also have to hand over his passport.
Lockin up the postman to save the mothafuckin day Nyah!
It is only a Misdemeanor to violate National Defense Air Space??? Why do I get 5 stars on GTA then??
Can you really ban someone from a federal district? What about a state?
Knowledge Brings Fear
This sounds like the kind of reaction our glorious overlords were having to people landing on the Capitol lawn on September 10th, 2001.
A little miffed, patronizing, an official "We have our eye on you", but not guns drawn, no disappearances into Cuban prison camps, no insane over-reactions.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
While it may be true that this guy was "literally flying under the radar", that phrase gives a very misleading impression: the impression that he was trying to sneak up on them.
Quite the contrary. He sent them a message a full hour in advance, saying that they should expect him.
So while it might have been "literally" under the radar, it wasn't figuratively under the radar. The White House knew he was coming and expected him. That being the case, they don't get to say they were surprised by his arrival, or imply that he was any kind of serious threat. If they were surprised at all, it was nobody's fault but their own.
Nah, he has a passport. Can't be an American...
It was abundantly clear that this guy did this act as a political protest and informed people in the press a YEAR in advance that this was his plan. Secret service officials were informed about it and determined the guy wasn't a psycho or had a criminal background or anything else alarming, so they basically ignored it as a non-concern. Then, days before he did it, he let people know he was about to do it, too!
If you wanted to give him a slap on the wrist... say, a fine for violating the rules on airspace? Sure, I think he even fully expected as much. Perhaps confiscate his gyro-copter too. Whatever.... But banning him from setting foot in the District of Columbia and talking about YEARS of prison time? That's outrageous.
Just last week I read about a psycho woman in Oregon who bashed a guy's skull in with an aluminum baseball bat on their first date, when he went out there to finally visit her in person after a 2 year long online relationship. They only gave her a sentence of a few MONTHS in jail for the incident, despite her planning the whole thing and getting another woman to assist her with it - AND saying she got the idea from something she read or saw that said it only takes 7 pounds of pressure to snap someone's neck. Which person are you more concerned will do people physical harm in the future??
Do judges have the power to ostracize American citizens from their own country's capital city?!??
As a condition of bail? Yes, I think so. See other posts here.
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
Had they shot him down would you be the one posting that it was an over reaction and therefore the government is a complete joke and overprotective?
We live in a free society, not a police state, regardless of what you may be wishing. That makes a lot of things like this possible.
It's a condition of his bail. If he violates it he gets to wait for his trial inside a nice cozy 8x8 cell instead.
Redundancy in government. It's a common theme.
Crazy but well-intended American nuttiness at its finest. I wanna give him a Freedom medal. He had an honest populist message, he didn't set out to hurt anybody, he DIDN'T ACTUALLY hurt anybody (including himself), did it in a wacky, even laughable goof-ball way using his own ingenuity, and most important, told lots of people what he was going to do before he did it (and nobody stopped him).
He gave us all a laugh, and at the same time harmlessly informed us that Washington's airspace is completely vulnerable to low-flying cruise missiles. Your welcome!
I know shit has gotten so hot over the years. They used to set themselves on fire to get a message across. Now they blow themselves up to take other people with them, or blow people up after running away (looking at YOU, Boston Bomber). But whereas the Soviets were the bad guys for shooting people for looking funny at the Kremlin, the U.S. used to be the place you could take LSD on the White House lawn and get nothing more than a night in jail (all he needs is a good haircut).
I never want to live in a USA where wacky shit like this Postman ain't funny anymore. We're supposed to know the difference between a good-hearted eccentric and the truly malicious. Give him a dirty look and a "don't do that again" thing. And maybe actually do something about campaign finance reform.
Maybe even their own country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...
This guy flew his aircraft into the DC ADIZ.
http://www.aerolegalservices.c...
He did not land on national property or attempt to deliver mail, but other than heinous
things, it's pretty much the same.
He was given a 30 day suspension of pilot privileges.
E
Like no one knew?
You do realize the link you offered lists about twenty things that he did wrong? Here's the big one:
103.19 Operations in prohibited or restricted areas.
No person may operate an ultralight vehicle in prohibited or restricted areas unless that person has permission from the using or controlling agency, as appropriate.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
If TFA is to be believed, his craft wouldn't meet the requirements of an ultralight aircraft:
103.1 Applicability.
This part prescribes rules governing the operation of ultralight vehicles in the United States. For the purposes of this part, an ultralight vehicle is a vehicle that:
[snip]
(e) If powered:
[snip]
(2) Has a fuel capacity not exceeding 5 U.S. gallons;
From TFA: According to court documents, Hughes rented a car and towed his gyrocopter from Florida to an airfield in Gettysburg, Pa. He chose the location for its proximity to the Capitol -- about an hour away and reachable on the aircraft's 10-gallon fuel tank -- and the fact that it was an uncontrolled airport, according to a criminal complaint.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
I don't believe you actually need a pilot's license to fly anything characterized as an "ultralight" aircraft, as these tape-and-balsawood gyrocopters appear to be. Doesn't mean the FAA can't fine your ass, of course, when you do dumb crap like flying a possibly deadly set of large rotors right past crowds of tourists at low altitudes in an urban area like DC.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Watching the video of this guy flying in to land shows what a cool machine the gyrocopter is...simple, cheap, easy to fly, and with a small take-off and landing footprint. Am I the only one who wants one of these now? Did the media ever identify what make and model of gyrocopter he owned? I want to get a kit and start building.
Petitioning the government for a redress of grievances and civil disobedience are two different things albeit similar.
Unregistered Aircraft... Felony
Violate National Defense Airspace... Misdemeanor?!
WTF?!
The felony wasn't.
It's my understanding that the gyrocopter in question was actually under the 250 pound limit that would require FAA registration.
This would mean the felony charge is bogus.
Can anyone confirm the vehicle total unladen weight?
Capitol Hill is no place for fellons.
What if he wants to contact his representative or Senator? What if he wants to petition his government for redress of grievances?
We live in a free society
...in name only. The amount of freedom you get is based on how much money you have, and how inconvenient your freedom is to TPTB.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Somehow, I had a brain fart and thought this guy landed at the White House.
s/Secret Service/Capital Police/
Imagine all the people...
How does that relate to the above?
He had his passport taken away. Therefore he had a passport. Since Americans live in the most awesome country ever there are only two reasons they'd need a passport; one would be to invade less awesome countries (though I'm not certain if members of the US military actually do need passports to go do violence on other countries territory) the other would be for tax evasion.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
He failed to register the LSA. If everyone who did this were locked up for 3 years there would be a lot of harmless aviation enthusiasts in federal prison.
From my experience with regulators from several countries, they tend to not sweat the small stuff until it is obvious that you aren't paying attention to the big stuff. Then they go through everything with a fine-toothed comb and throw the book at you.
The guy flew into the DC SFRA. If the FAA doesn't ruin his life, then everybody and their uncle will be doing it, and then they don't really have a buffer zone in which to shoot down aircraft that are potentially threatening.
The fuel tank issue is a bit like citing somebody for worn wipers in a vehicular homicide investigation. They're just padding the charges.
He is a flight risk.
I Consider Douglas Hughes a hero.He is the only guy to call attention to unfair campaign financing .he must be walking bowl legged cause he's got balls as big as grapefruit. Jason
Sometimes they like to look at other countries so they can feel superior.
Is it just my perception, or is the whole system somehow getting out of hand?
I have the impression that these days, you get more and more of your life destroyed by just playing a harmless prank.
I mean this guy landed with his Cessna in the Red Square, in the middle of Moscow, coming from abroad, no less -- during the Cold War. He was sentenced to four years of which he effectively served one. Harsh, yes, but we're speaking of the Soviet Union in the late eighties. Are we reaching *that* level?
For fuck's sake.
The original story I read was the one shared by KPLR TV (channel 11) in St. Louis:
http://kplr11.com/2015/04/14/p...
But this story has been edited since I first read it last week, as far as her punishment for the offense. (I even shared it on Facebook last week and it received comments from people who read the link and were outraged that she received such a light sentence for the crime.)
Perhaps it was in error, since they now give a date she's supposed to return to court and only speak of her being released on bail in the meantime.
If you check the SFRA rules, they mentioned it seemed everything, except a gyro copter.
He did violate Class B airspace and a Prohibited area.
Sounds like they're not interested in ruining his life. Just trying to encourage him to not do it again. They are usually very persuasive that way.
...charged with violating aircraft registration requirements, a felony, and violating national defense airspace, a misdemeanor.
The latter seems the more felonious of the two!!