WASHINGTON (AP) – A small gyrocopter that flew through miles of the nation’s most restricted airspace before landing at the U.S. Capitol was “indistinguishable” from other non-aircraft such as a flock of birds, a kite or a balloon, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a House committee that the slow-moving gyrocopter appeared as an “irregular symbol” on radar monitored by air traffic controllers. Huerta and other officials said the small, unidentified object did not pose an apparent threat before landing on the Capitol’s West Lawn April 15.
Forensic analysis conducted later identified a slow-moving object that traveled about 70 miles from Gettysburg, Pa., to the U.S. Capitol. Officials now believe that was the gyrocopter. A dot representing the gyrocopter “appeared only intermittently throughout the flight,” Huerta said.
Navy Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said small aircraft such as gyrocopters represent a “technical and operational challenge” for the military to detect and defend against.
The gyrocopter incident “has further confirmed the need to continue to improve our ability to identify low-altitude and slow-speed aerial vehicles” operating in the skies above the nation’s capital, Gortney told the House Oversight Committee.