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How Did This Pilot Make It All The Way To The Capitol Lawn?

Doug Hughes is pictured in his gyrocopter in this screenshot from a Tampa Bay Times video.
Doug Hughes is pictured in his gyrocopter in this screenshot from a Tampa Bay Times video.

Doug Hughes, 61, landed his fragile ultralight gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn yesterday. He piloted the aircraft at roughly 45 miles an hour down the Potomac River and to Congress to raise awareness about campaign finance laws.

Hughes claims to have warned authorities ahead of time, but air defense systems still did not detect the copter as it entered restricted airspace. Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Marcus Weisgerber of Defense One for a look at how he got that far without being stopped.

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