Robert K. Preston
Robert K. Preston (born c. 1954) is an
American infamous for landing a
helicopter on the
White House lawn.At 2
A.M. On
February 17,
1974, Preston, a
U.S. Army private, stole a
United States Army helicopter from
Fort Meade, Maryland, flew it to
Washington, D.C., and hovered for six minutes over the White House before descending on the south lawn, about 100 yards from the West Wing. There was no initial attempt from the
Executive Protective Service to shoot the helicopter down, and he later took off and was chased by two
Maryland State Police helicopters. Preston forced one of the police helicopters down through his maneuvering of the helicopter, and then returned to the White House. This time, as he hovered above the south grounds, the Executive Protective Service fired at him with
shotguns and
submachine guns. Preston was injured slightly, and landed his helicopter.
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