1974 White House helicopter incident

He parked his car at the unguarded airfield, climbed into one of the helicopters, serial number 62–1920, and started preflight checks.

Soon after, he lifted off without activating his anti-collision lights or making standard radio calls; a controller in the control tower spotted the stolen helicopter and alerted the Maryland State Police.

Preston flew low over the restaurant he had visited earlier, then briefly touched down in a nearby field where his hat was later recovered.

He then decided to visit Washington, D.C., 20 mi southwest, by following the lights of the Baltimore–Washington Parkway.

Preston's helicopter was first discovered by the District of Columbia police when he was spotted hovering between the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.

Flight over this area was strictly prohibited, but this was not enforced in any significant way at the time; surface-to-air missiles were not installed around Washington until after the September 11 attacks.

Preston spent five to six minutes hovering a couple of feet above the Washington Monument's grounds, then flew over the Capitol and went on to follow Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

The Secret Service policy, at the time, was to fire at aerial intruders, but when to do so was left vague—especially if it could harm bystanders.

While Preston was hovering above and briefly touched down on the South Lawn, the White House Executive Office control center watch officer, Henry S. Kulbaski, attempted to contact his superiors by phone but received no answer.

After the helicopter departed, Kulbaski ordered his agents to shoot it down if it returned.

At 12:56 a.m., an air traffic controller at Washington National Airport noticed a blip on his radar scope; after realizing it was the stolen helicopter, the controller alerted the police.

Preston then turned back toward Fort Meade in Maryland and left the restricted airspace; an old Bell 47 helicopter of the Maryland police followed but was too slow to keep up with Preston.

The stolen helicopter soon appeared on the Baltimore/Washington International Airport's radar.

Robert Kenneth Preston was born in Panama City, Florida, on November 5, 1953.

Having had longtime aspirations toward a military career, he enrolled in the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at Rutherford High School.

He earned a private pilot's license for single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft and studied aviation management at Gulf Coast Community College, hoping to become a helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1972, he trained to become a helicopter pilot, flying the Hughes TH-55 Osage at Fort Wolters, Texas.

Preston failed the technical training due to "deficiency in the instrument phase", losing his opportunity to become a warrant officer pilot.

The ongoing withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam and consequent surplus of qualified helicopter pilots may have also been a factor in Preston not being accepted as a pilot.

On February 17, 1974, U.S. Army Private First Class Robert Kenneth Preston (1953–2009) took off in a stolen Bell UH-1B Iroquois "Huey" helicopter from Tipton Field, Maryland, and landed it on the South Lawn of the White House in a significant breach of security.

Preston had enlisted in the Army to become a helicopter pilot.

However, he did not graduate from the helicopter training course and lost his opportunity to attain the rank of warrant officer pilot.

His enlistment bound him to serve four years in the Army, and he was sent to Fort Meade as a helicopter mechanic.

Preston believed this situation was unfair and later said he stole the helicopter to show his skill as a pilot.

Shortly after midnight, Preston, on leave, was returning to Tipton Field, south of Fort Meade.

Thirty helicopters at the base were fueled and ready to fly; he took off in one without anti-collision lights on or making the standard radio calls.

The Maryland State Police were alerted.

Preston flew southwest toward Washington, D.C., where he hovered close to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and over the South Lawn of the White House.

He then flew back toward Fort Meade with two Bell 206 JetRanger police helicopters and police cars in pursuit.

After a chase over Maryland, he reversed course toward Washington again and entered the White House grounds.

The Secret Service opened fire this time.

Preston was lightly wounded, landed the helicopter, and was arrested and held in custody.

Preston pleaded guilty to "wrongful appropriation and breach of the peace" in the plea bargain at his court-martial.

He was sentenced to one year in prison, six months of which was time served, and a fine of US$2400 1974.

Still bound by his four-year obligation to serve with the army, Preston was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland, as a helicopter mechanic in January 1974.

At the time of the incident, he was 20 years old, with the rank of private first class; he was described by his commanding officer as a "regular, quiet individual" with above-average intelligence.

On February 17, 1974, shortly after midnight, Preston left a dance hall and restaurant, downhearted due to a failed relationship and his unclear future in his military career.

He returned to the Army Airfield, Tipton Field, south of Fort Meade, where thirty Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" helicopters were fueled and ready.

Preston later recalled, "I wanted to get up and fly and get behind the controls. It would make me feel better because I love flying".

After his release, Preston received a general discharge from the army, then lived a quiet life, married, before he died of cancer in 2009.