Frank Eugene Corder (May 26, 1956 – September 12, 1994) was an American truck driver. He stole a

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

late on September 11, 1994, and crashed the stolen aircraft onto the

South Lawn The South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., is directly south of the house and is bordered on the east by East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, on the west by West Executive Drive and the Old Executive Office Building, and ...

of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

early on September 12, 1994, while attempting to land the plane; he was killed, and was the sole casualty.

Background

Corder was born in Perry Point, Maryland, the son of William Eugene Corder, who was an aircraft mechanic at

Edgewood Arsenal Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...

, and Dorothy Corder. He dropped out of Aberdeen High School in the eleventh grade and enlisted in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in October 1974. Corder was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky and

Fort Carson, Colorado Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs ...

, where he was trained as a mechanic. He was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

from military service in July 1975 at the rank of

private first class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ...

. After his service ended, he worked as a truck driver from 1976 until his employment was terminated in early 1993. On April 15, 1993, Corder was arrested for theft and was arrested again later that year on October 9 for drug dealing. He was sentenced to spend 90 days at a drug rehabilitation center and was released in February 1994. After he was released, he was living with his third wife Lydia at Keyser's Motel in

Aberdeen, Maryland Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimor ...

. Lydia Corder left Frank three weeks prior to the incident, which is thought to have driven him towards deep depression and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

. Friends claim he bore no ill will towards

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

and probably only wanted the publicity of the stunt, based largely on his sentiments towards

Mathias Rust Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. A teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, being tracked several times by Sovi ...

's flight of a

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

from Finland to Moscow, USSR. The President was not even in the mansion at the time due to renovations, but was instead staying at

Blair House Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...

Incident

Corder stole the Cessna on the night of September 11 and departed from

Harford County Airport Harford County Airport is a public airport located in the unincorporated community of Churchville, in Harford County, Maryland, United States. Harford County Airport is a general aviation (GA) airport in northern Maryland that serves primari ...

in Churchville, Maryland while severely intoxicated, which is presumed to have led to his later miscalculation. The plane was noticed by

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

technicians at

Ronald Reagan National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

several minutes before he tried to steer it into the wall of the

. At 1:49 a.m., he hit the South Lawn and died on impact. The crash caused a re-evaluation in security procedures around the White House, as the pilot had entered

restricted airspace Restricted airspace is an area of airspace typically used by the military in which the local controlling authorities have determined that air traffic must be restricted or prohibited for safety or security concerns. It is one of many types of s ...

. Though the White House is rumored to be equipped with

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s, none were fired. The Secret Service has neither confirmed nor dispelled the rumor.

Background

Incident

See also

References

Further reading