How a 20-year-old stole a military helicopter and landed it on the White House lawn - 50 years ago

If you had been wandering the streets of Washington DC in the hours after midnight on February 17, 1974, you might have seen something unexpected buzzing overhead.

A dangerously low-flying helicopter hovered near the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, forcing a police car off the road and with the Secret Service in close pursuit. foreign media, the Telegraph reports.

And this was not some foreigner trying to carry out some act of terrorism or something like that in the center of the capital.

This was Robert K Preston, a disaffected US Army soldier who had just turned 20 years old.

Two years earlier, in 1972, the Florida boy had signed up to become a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, as part of a crew that would fly wounded soldiers away from the battlefield.

But such a thing did not happen.

He failed technical training at Fort Wolters, Texas, due to a 'deficiency in the instrument stage' and was sent to Fort Meade in Maryland, where he took a role as a helicopter mechanic.

Preston was "devastated".

He was angry with the military and depressed about romantic problems he was having with a boyfriend.

But he knew he would at least be back "in the air" at some point: after all, the army base had 30 helicopters filled with fuel.

It was just after midnight and the nation's capital was dark. Not entirely sure why he was doing what he was doing, Preston followed a turn that led him into town.

He noticed the Washington Monument coming into view. Preston then flew to the US Capitol and then to the Statue of Liberty – something not many people have seen up close.

From there, he flew somewhere where he "identified a big blob" in the middle of all the lights: the White House.

He surveyed the people gathered outside the cabin. "Everyone stood around watching," he told the court.

Of course, the police already knew very well that something was wrong.

In fact, they knew almost from the moment Preston took off from Fort Meade, as a dispatcher in the base's control tower spotted the helicopter taking off without a flight plan on file.

So the stolen helicopter, after leaving the White House lawn, had now crossed the border into Maryland, so state troopers took two of their helicopters to chase it.

Police cars followed him from the ground.

At a sweet shop, the young soldier hovered for a while, thinking of landing and surrendering.

But he couldn't find anywhere to land, so he turned the helicopter around and went back to the presidential residence.

As Preston descended, the Secret Service opened fire.

He was hit by several rounds, with some hitting the soldier's legs. However, he managed to land 100 meters from the southern part of the building.

Opening the door, Preston managed to roll under the helicopter without taking another hit.

When he was taken to the White House for questioning, he asked if he could speak to President Richard Nixon, but was told that he was visiting Florida. His wife Pat was also out, visiting the couple's sick daughter in Indianapolis.

The 20-year-old was then taken to Walter Reed Army Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and treatment for superficial wounds to his leg.

In the military court, he was initially accused of attempting to kill the president, but after some negotiations he pleaded guilty to "improper appropriation and disturbing the public peace".

Preston was sentenced to six months in prison and then given a general release.

He lived the rest of his life out of the limelight in Washington state and died of cancer in 2009 at the age of 55.

The records do not indicate whether he ever returned to the cockpit of any other helicopter.

But in court-martial depositions, it was clear that those who watched his tour of the US capital on February 17 were stunned by what they saw. /Telegraph/