On Saturday, two Cuban migrants flew from the communist island to Key West a distance of around 90 miles (145 kilometers) in a motorized hang glider, according to Florida officials.
The two were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol after arriving at Key West International Airport safely at around 10:30 a.m., according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
No harm was done to the migrants.
Before the migrants landed at the airport, Chris Ferrara captured an astonishing video of them.
He remarked, “Never seen this before, I don’t know whether it’s ever happened. “I’ve never heard of anyone flying a hang glider across from Cuba.”
According to Ferrara, the migrants fled Cuba aboard a motorized hang glider and crossed open water before landing in planes’ flight paths.
The object was overhead. It was directly in line with the landing approach of commercial airlines, so I knew it shouldn’t be there, he said. “I suppose it really blew them across. Whether you travel by air or sea, it is risky, especially in this wind in a small hang glider.
A Cuban immigrant has traveled to South Florida in an unorthodox manner before. An Antonov AN-2 crop duster jet from the Soviet era was used by Cuban pilot Ruben Martinez Machado, 29, on October 21 to travel 270 miles and land at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades.
Martinez Machado was detained but received refuge on February 24. He used a translator to communicate with 7News.
“I want to thank everyone who helped me. Sure, it was all worthwhile in the end, he said.
The Biden administration implemented a policy change in early January that requires them to request a permit, or parole, online before arriving with the sponsorship of a relative or acquaintance in the United States. This was done in response to the overwhelming number of migrants, including Cubans, who were arriving at the Mexican border and entering Florida by boat.
Those who arrive without doing so run the danger of being deported.
