Homeland Chief: Gyrocopter Came In 'Under The Radar'

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WJZ) -- Tough questions for U.S. Capitol Police and the Secret Service after a man in a gyrocopter lands on the lawn of the Capitol building. It comes as that man makes a first appearance in federal court.

Derek Valcourt has more on the security concerns the incident is raising.

Homeland Security officials say the small aircraft literally flew under the radar, but that's little consolation to many now frustrated lawmakers.

When 61-year-old Doug Hughes landed his gyrocopter on the lawn of the Capitol Wednesday, he was quickly arrested. But by then, he'd already flown into restricted airspace past the White House and the Washington Monument, apparently without detection.

Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino is among those now questioning security in the capital.

Valcourt: "What troubles you most about this incident?"

Bongino: "Was this gyrocopter, this airborne vehicle detected? If it wasn't, why not? That's a very serious problem. You're looking at some of the most sensitive airspace in the entire planet."

The Secret Service questioned Hughes about his plan two years ago, but determined he was not a threat.

His stunt comes on the heels of other recent high-profile security scares in Washington, D.C., including two fence jumpers--one of them made it all the way into the White House.

"I'm very concerned. As a matter fact, I was in the building and didn't even know what was happening," said Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, (D) 7th District.

Rep. Cummings says the incident could trigger congressional hearings. He says the aircraft should have been detected and worries copycats could do more harm in the future.

"One of our major concerns is drones. If you cannot detect this instrument, you definitely wouldn't be able to detect a drone," said Rep. Cummings. "And so we've got to look at our technology, figure out what we need to do to make sure that we can detect these things."

The pilot of that small aircraft appeared briefly in court Thursday. He was charged with violating national security restricted airspace. He was released from jail, but ordered to home detention.