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Crime History: Md. man pilots plane into South Lawn at White House

September 11, 2012 | 8:00 pm | Modified: September 12, 2012 at 3:15 pm
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Md. man pilots plane into White House South Lawn
On this day, Sept. 12, in 1994, an Aberdeen man under the influence of cocaine and alcohol crashed a single-engine Cessna into the South Lawn of the White House.

Frank Corder had stolen the plane from a Baltimore-area airfield and piloted it into controlled airspace near the White House in the wee hours of the morning on Sept. 12. A Secret Service investigation concluded that Corder had a "vast array of financial, marital and legal problems" and had told friends he wanted to kill himself " 'in a big way' by flying an airplane into the White House or the dome of the Capitol." Corder died of massive blunt-force trauma during the crash. The incident marked a shift in security at the White House and sparked many security recommendations that are still in place today. - Aubrey Whelan

-- Aubrey Whelan