Customs probes use of helicopter for school stunt

[September 19, 2012]  McLEAN, Va. (AP) -- After a government helicopter was used in an over-the-top invitation to a high school dance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are reviewing the incident and an agency pilot has been reassigned.

It happened last week at Patriot High School in Nokesville, a suburb of Washington, D.C. As part of an invitation to a fall dance, a student arranged for a Customs pilot to fly over the school and drop a stuffed teddy bear onto the football field.

The agency said Tuesday it is reviewing the incident and the pilot has been reassigned to administrative duties for now.

Neither school administrators nor officials at the federal agency would say how the student and pilot were connected.

It was not clear whether the student who received the bear accepted the invitation.

[Associated Press; By MATTHEW BARAKAT]

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