In two Chinese films released in 2013, "The Amazing Crisis" and "The Fall of the White House," the White House was targeted by extremists. These two typical Hollywood blockbusters, although the plot is cheesy, the scene is hot, the special effects are realistic, and the White House is forcibly demolished, twice! It was a great surprise to the audience.
■ Poster of the movie "Amazing Crisis".
■ Poster of the movie "The White House Falls".
In fact, in reality, it is not so difficult to "capture" the White House, as early as 1974, an American guy completed this "feat".
On a Sunday, February 17, 1974, less than 1 a.m., Henry Kurbarsky, a duty officer at the Control Center of the White House Administrative Office who was on duty, suddenly noticed that a helicopter was coming towards the White House. At that time, although the air above the White House was a no-fly zone, there were no anti-aircraft weapons. It was not until after 9/11 in 2001 that surface-to-air missiles were installed around washington. Secret Service agents responsible for defending the White House were allowed to fire at air intruders, but in vague ways, especially if they might be injured by mistake.
Therefore, Kurbarsky did not dare to act rashly, but called his superiors, but did not receive any reply. He could only watch as the Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter landed on the White House South Lawn, paused for a moment, and then flew away.
Confused, Kurbarsky had to order White House agents to fire at the helicopter if it flew back.
At this time, the Maryland police and the Washington, D.C. police had long been in disarray.
20 years old, lost love, bad future, alcohol, we all know what kind of stupid things a person can do if these factors happen to come together. Robert Kenneth Preston, the pilot of the helicopter belonging to the U.S. Army, was in such a situation.
Born in 1953 in Panama City, Florida, Preston aspired to join the military from an early age. He earned a private pilot license for single-engine fixed-wing aircraft and studied aviation management at the local Gulf Community College, hoping to go to War in Vietnam and become a helicopter pilot in the future.
But by the time Preston joined the U.S. Army in 1972, the anti-war movement had already blossomed in the United States, and the Vietnam War was nearing its end. On January 27, 1973, the four parties concerned to the Vietnamese issue signed a peace treaty in Paris, France. In the next two months, all U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam. This has left a large surplus of helicopter pilots in the US military. At this time, Preston, who was training as a helicopter pilot at the Hughes TH-55 in Waltersburg, Texas, also lost the opportunity to become a warrant officer pilot due to the lack of instrument flight stages.
■ Hughes TH-55 helicopter.
The pilots failed, and the four-year military service had to continue. In January 1974, First Class Soldier Preston was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland, as a helicopter mechanic. Preston, who had always aspired to be a pilot, could only watch others fly every day, and his superiors rated him as "ordinary, quiet, and more than average intelligence".
Preston's superiors must not have known that there was an old Chinese saying: a leopard is made out of a man. Soon, Preston let him know what it meant.
On February 17, 1974, just after 0:00, Preston, depressed by a lost love and a vague future in his military career, left a ballroom and restaurant and drove back to Tipton Military Airfield, south of Fort Mead. Seeing 30 neatly packed Bell UH-1 Huey helicopters parked at the airport, the desire to fly suddenly could not be suppressed.
He sneaked into a helicopter numbered 62-1920 and quickly started the plane to fly. At this time, an air traffic controller at the airport tower discovered the theft of the aircraft and immediately reported it to the Maryland police.
■ This Bell UH-1B Hewi helicopter, numbered 62-1920, stolen by Preston.
Preston first flew low over the restaurant he had left earlier and landed nearby for a moment, where investigators later found his hat. After successfully stealing the plane, he needs to think about life. After that, he decided to follow the lights on Baltimore-Washington Avenue to washington, D.C., 32 kilometers southwest.
Soon, Washington, D.C. police found the "snitch" between Capitol Hill and lincoln memorial. Preston hovered over the ground of the Washington Monument for a few minutes before flying over the Capitol and continuing along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. In his words: "The White House is a big shadow in a light." After that, it goes back to the scene at the beginning of this article.
After successfully completing the "feat" of landing on the White House's South Lawn, Preston seemed satisfied, and he left the White House, turned around and flew back to Tipton Airport. A Maryland Police Bell 47 helicopter tried to catch up, but it was too slow and was quickly dumped by Preston.
■ Bell 47 helicopter.
At this time, the Maryland police sent two Bell 206 helicopters to try to intercept Preston, who was flying northeast, and there were many police cars on the ground following him. The stalking police seem to have sparked Preston's desire to prove his flying skills. He swept past a police car, only a few inches above the roof, causing the car to crash. After hovering over a donut store for a while, Preston flew back along Baltimore-Washington Avenue toward Washington. According to his own afterwards, he wanted to "surrender to President Nixon in person."
■ Police Bell 206 helicopter.
On the way back to the White House, Preston got into a fierce entanglement with the two police Bell 206s, first using air combat dogfighting tactics to dump one of the Bell 206s, and now only the other Bell 206s are still with him. Over Baltimore-Washington Avenue, Preston became more and more skilled in driving his Bell UH-1B, fast and slow, high and low, sometimes simply rubbing the roof of a car on the road.
■ Preston's flight path.
Around 2 a.m., Preston flew over the White House for the second time. At this time his helicopter was suddenly illuminated by the white house agents who were waiting in a tight line, and then various automatic weapons and shotguns opened fire together, and one bullet hit Preston's foot, and the UH-1B jerked and bounced on the side of the sled, and Preston struggled to regain control of the plane, landing it on the White House South Lawn again. The landing site is only 91 meters from the White House.
Preston jumped out of a helicopter and rushed to the White House, where he was then handcuffed to the ground by agents, ending the world-shaking Invasion of the White House helicopter.
■ Preston was taken out of the White House by Secret Service agents.
It should be noted that President and Mrs. Nixon were not in the White House at the time of the incident, and afterwards at a ceremony at the White House, Kur bassky and the pilot and co-pilot of the Bell 206 that had been intercepting the UH-1B were given a pair of presidential cufflinks by Nixon in recognition.
White House agents fired more than 300 rounds of ammunition, five of which hit Preston, but unbelievably only caused some skin trauma, which is really hard to die. The UH-1B helicopter was also hit several times, but after the military inspection found that the plane was not a big problem, it flew the helicopter directly from the White House South Lawn back to Tipton Airport at noon the next day in full view of the public. Today you can see it at the U.S. Naval Air Station Liulin base which has become an exhibit.
■ Military personnel are inspecting the UH-1B, which is covered with bullet marks.
■ Park the UH-1B on the South Lawn of the White House with bullet marks.
■ The UH-1B flew away from the White House on its own.
Preston was then tried by a court-martial, and the pilot of the Bell 206 helicopter that intercepted him said he thought Preston intended to carry out a suicidal impact on the White House, but Preston insisted he was just trying to draw attention to his unjust situation and show his skills as a pilot. The court sentenced Preston to 1 year in prison and fined $2,400 (about $12,594 in 2020). Preston then moved to Washington State and died of cancer in 2009.
■ Preston walking out of the courtroom (the one who wears a long trench coat in the middle).
Finally, there is a digression: On February 22, 1974, just five days after Preston had sneaked into the White House, a man named Samuel Byck, armed with a revolver and a petrol bomb, attempted to hijack a plane taking off from baltimore-Washington airport and then rammed the White House to assassinate President Nixon. He committed suicide after being shot by the police, and people learned of his intentions from the tapes he had left behind beforehand. Preston's actions are generally believed to have influenced him.