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Illegally Landing a Stolen Helicopter at the White House | Tales From the Bottle

Qxir | November 11, 2025



Can you really steal an aircraft and fly it straight to the White House? No, but back in the seventies you could! They were better times…

“On February 17, 1974, U.S. Army Private Robert K. Preston 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 major breach of security. Preston had enlisted in the Army to become a helicopter pilot, but he did not graduate from the helicopter training course and lost his opportunity to attain the rank of warrant officer pilot. He was bound by his enlistment to serve four years in the Army, and he was sent to Fort Meade as a helicopter mechanic. Preston believed that this situation was unfair and later said that 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, and 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. This time, the Secret Service opened fire. Preston was lightly wounded, landed the helicopter, and was arrested and held in custody.
In the plea bargain at his court-martial, Preston pleaded guilty to “wrongful appropriation and breach of the peace” and was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of US$2,400 (equivalent to $12,442 in 2019). He had already been in prison for six months, and had to serve six additional months. After his release, Preston received a general discharge from the army, then lived a quiet life, married, and died of cancer in 2009.”

More on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_White_House_helicopter_incident

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Written by Qxir

Comments

This post currently has 33 comments.

  2. @michaelpipkin9942

    November 11, 2025 at 8:24 am

    Mad Lad for sure.
    Stole a helicopter, went to the White House but had to run an errand. Flipped a bitch and went back to the White House. Got shot five times and smiled at the hospital.

  3. @LozenColorado

    November 11, 2025 at 8:24 am

    He shouldn't have been disappointed. My ex-Fil was a warrant officer helicopter pilot. He's an alcoholic asshole, as are most of his friends. Just a bunch of old men turning yellow from cirrhosis and talking about all the women and children they set on fire.

  6. @brian.westersauce

    November 11, 2025 at 8:24 am

    On the pronouncement of Maryland: It’s like you said (“Maræhland” not “Mareeland”) but with the slightest flick towards your historically mistaken Mareeland. Like 30% of the way there between the two. Like just neutral, Maræland

    And yes I would like to know how to pronounce various Irish & Scottish names

  11. @stephenwright8824

    November 11, 2025 at 8:24 am

    My father served in Vietnam as a helicopter door gunner for twenty months between 1965-67. When he got home, he wanted to go to Vietnam again as a helicopter pilot but it was 1970, and by that time the qualifying scores were higher than the ones he tested at. Had he become a pilot to begin with and gone to Vietnam when he did, his scores would have qualified him.

  22. @danielcurtis1434

    November 11, 2025 at 8:24 am

    Your college professor wasn’t exaggerating. Any threat against the president even high school students making jokes is investigated by the secret service. I know of multiple cases of stupid kids saying or posting things things threatening politicians only to end up getting interrogated for hours. So I find it rather believable that FBI agents would have gone there. They have these liaison agents in enough countries. So the agents would have only come from London most likely.
    It’s kinda crazy but by US law FBI can basically arrest someone anywhere. Then consider were one of few countries that makes killing a countryman illegal federally anywhere in the world. So yeah at least in theory the FBI could and have done some pretty far out stuff

Comments are closed.

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