KEY WEST, Fla. (AP/WSVN) — Two Cuban migrants used a motorized hang glider to fly the approximately 90 miles (145 kilometers) from the communist island to Key West on Saturday, Florida officials said.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said the duo landed safely at Key West International Airport at about 10:30 a.m. and were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The migrants were not hurt.
Chris Ferrara recorded startling video of the migrants moments before they touched down at the airport.
“Never seen this before, I don’t know if it’s ever happened before,” he said. “I’ve never heard of people crossing from Cuba in a hang glider.”
Ferrara said the migrants landed in the flight path of planes on the motorized hang glider, escaping Cuba and crossing open water.
“It was going overhead. I knew it shouldn’t be there; it was right in line for the landing approach of commercial airlines,” he said. “I imagine it blew them quite across. It’s a dangerous crossing, whether you are by water or air, especially in this wind in a little hang glider.”
This is not the first time a Cuban migrant has flown to South Florida in an unusual way. On Oct. 21, 29-year-old Ruben Martinez Machado, a Cuban pilot, flew 270 miles and landed at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades using an Antonov AN-2 Soviet-era crop duster plane.
Martinez Machado was taken into custody but was granted asylum on Feb. 24. He spoke to 7News through a translator.
“Thank you to everyone who supported me. Yes, in the end, it was all worth it,” he said.
Overwhelmed by Cubans and other migrants arriving at the Mexican border and into Florida by boat, the Biden administration in early January implemented a policy change that makes them request a permit, or parole, online before arriving with the sponsorship of a relative or acquaintance in the U.S.
Those who arrive without doing that risk deportation.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.