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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!
Can you really ban someone from a federal district? What about a state?
Knowledge Brings Fear
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.
Pilot here. Even though this guy clearly did it intentionally, accidentally violating an airspace in a small plane without sophisticated navigation equipment is easier than you would think. Someone does it every once in a while. Don't get me wrong, it's still a big deal, but not a felony. I wouldn't ever fly near the D.C. area out of fear of doing exactly that. The airspace up there is pretty complicated.
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??
It's always interesting hearing the stories of people trying to fly into Meacham in Fort Worth, TX getting off by a couple miles to the west and starting an approach into what was Carswel AFB (now NAS Joint Reserve Base). The runways are only off from each other by a couple of degrees and only a couple miles apart so if you're flying VFR, it's not as hard as you think to confuse them. Fortunately, the controllers are good about making sure you get it straight before you get too far.
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.
"I can't believe no one shot him as he came over the fence. What the fuck is wrong with White House security?"
Maybe the firearms they're armed with don't have the range to hit a gyro-copter landing at the Capitol building, which is over a mile away.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
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.
White House guards were busy guarding the White House. This guy landed at the Capitol building.
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.
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?
What if he wants to contact his representative or Senator? What if he wants to petition his government for redress of grievances?
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