A postal worker from Florida lands a gyro copter on the lawn at the capitol building. You got to love those mailmen nothing stops them from their duty.And that was a long way from Florida in a little craft like that.

these are whether they know it or not real test cases and feed back for those who would intend to do harm.

Why is there not a shoot and destroy order for ANY unauthorized unmanned aircraft in WH air space????

And we are supposed to feel safe under the watchful eye of ????

Originally Posted by Guest

these are whether they know it or not real test cases and feed back for those who would intend to do harm.

Why is there not a shoot and destroy order for ANY unauthorized unmanned aircraft in WH air space????

And we are supposed to feel safe under the watchful eye of ????

Actually you're correct ... the proper protocol in this case would have been to shoot it down. However, it usually takes a screw-up or "oh sh**" incident to get the right procedures in place.

Originally Posted by Guest

Actually you're correct ... the proper protocol in this case would have been to shoot it down. However, it usually takes a screw-up or "oh sh**" incident to get the right procedures in place.

Small planes frequently violate the air space over Washington. Usually, it is just pilot error of not reading the instruments correctly but the usual procedure is to scramble a couple of jets from Andrews to see what is happening. The plane is then routed to Frederick, MD, and the pilot gets the scare of his life from military personnel.

A gyrocopter is a different story. I doubt he was flying at much more than a couple hundred feet. No way of shooting it down with a missile. Anyhow, the pilot is under arrest.

Originally Posted by Guest

Small planes frequently violate the air space over Washington. Usually, it is just pilot error of not reading the instruments correctly but the usual procedure is to scramble a couple of jets from Andrews to see what is happening. The plane is then routed to Frederick, MD, and the pilot gets the scare of his life from military personnel.

A gyrocopter is a different story. I doubt he was flying at much more than a couple hundred feet. No way of shooting it down with a missile. Anyhow, the pilot is under arrest.

Yes, you're right about the airspace issue for DC in general. I was referring to the actual airspace above the WH, Capitol and other more high-value areas. They have defensive systems, the details of which are understandably classified and thus not discussable.

In any event, the pilot is now in some very deep you know what.

He put a video out and he said he would alert the FAA an hour before he was going to be in the no fly zone
FAA investigating Florida mailman's landing of gyrocopter on U.S. Capitol lawn | Tampa Bay Times

If he indeed gave a warning and if he indeed was flying at such a low altitude, then several/many people were aware or quickly became aware there was someone going to land on or near the WH. And as soon as it was apparent....and it had to be apparent to very many people involved with protecting the WH....it should have been shot down.

This time there was no harm done....EXCEPT....those who would do harm now know they can land inside the fence very close to the WH and not be fired upon!!!!

We are once again choosing to exhibit weakness where we should be showing every ounce ounce of prevention at our disposal.

And sitting and talking with the pilot is not an acceptable course of action. The next pilot may very well detonate something that at a low altitude could do significant damage and maim or kill many people.

Alarmist? Not one bit. The enemy only understands a show of force/strength.
This event was very, very poorly handled by those charged with protecting the WH.

Originally Posted by Guest

If he indeed gave a warning and if he indeed was flying at such a low altitude, then several/many people were aware or quickly became aware there was someone going to land on or near the WH. And as soon as it was apparent....and it had to be apparent to very many people involved with protecting the WH....it should have been shot down.

This time there was no harm done....EXCEPT....those who would do harm now know they can land inside the fence very close to the WH and not be fired upon!!!!

We are once again choosing to exhibit weakness where we should be showing every ounce ounce of prevention at our disposal.

And sitting and talking with the pilot is not an acceptable course of action. The next pilot may very well detonate something that at a low altitude could do significant damage and maim or kill many people.

Alarmist? Not one bit. The enemy only understands a show of force/strength.
This event was very, very poorly handled by those charged with protecting the WH.

This pilot landed on the lawn of the capital, not the White House.

Originally Posted by Guest

This pilot landed on the lawn of the capital, not the White House.

Don't confuse him with facts. He has his mind made up that this was a test of the security of the government from attacks by Muslim extremists.

Originally Posted by Guest

Don't confuse him with facts. He has his mind made up that this was a test of the security of the government from attacks by Muslim extremists.

If BS was music you would drown out a brass band.
Left field BS even louder!