Prosecutors: Gyrocopter pilot nearly collided with Delta plane
A Florida man who flew a small gyrocopter through protected Washington airspace before landing outside the US Capitol last spring was seconds away from colliding with a Delta flight that had taken off from Reagan National Airport, prosecutors said. In a court filing Friday, prosecutors said Douglas Hughes flew his one-person aircraft almost directly into the oncoming flight path of the 150-person Airbus turbojet last April. Hughes came within 1,400 yards of Delta Flight 1639, while safety rules require aircraft to remain separated by more than 3,000 yards. “If the gyrocopter had drifted slightly west, or the airline had taken a slightly more easterly path, a collision could have occurred,” prosecutors said. Such a collision could have been “catastrophic,” they added. Hughes, who agreed to a plea deal in November, is set to be sentenced April 13. Prosecutors are asking for 10 months in prison, arguing the former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, put countless lives at risk. Hughes rejected the prosecution court filing saying he knew where the commercial air traffic was and “I didn’t go there.” <br/>
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Prosecutors: Gyrocopter pilot nearly collided with Delta plane
A Florida man who flew a small gyrocopter through protected Washington airspace before landing outside the US Capitol last spring was seconds away from colliding with a Delta flight that had taken off from Reagan National Airport, prosecutors said. In a court filing Friday, prosecutors said Douglas Hughes flew his one-person aircraft almost directly into the oncoming flight path of the 150-person Airbus turbojet last April. Hughes came within 1,400 yards of Delta Flight 1639, while safety rules require aircraft to remain separated by more than 3,000 yards. “If the gyrocopter had drifted slightly west, or the airline had taken a slightly more easterly path, a collision could have occurred,” prosecutors said. Such a collision could have been “catastrophic,” they added. Hughes, who agreed to a plea deal in November, is set to be sentenced April 13. Prosecutors are asking for 10 months in prison, arguing the former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, put countless lives at risk. Hughes rejected the prosecution court filing saying he knew where the commercial air traffic was and “I didn’t go there.” <br/>
