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Tupelo, Mississippi pilot threatening to crash plane into Walmart, police say
A pilot flying a small plane over Tupelo, Mississippi has threatened to crash into a Walmart, authorities warned Saturday. The Tupelo Police Department said it was notified around 5 am this morning that a pilot flying what a "King Air type" airplane was considering the crash landing into a Walmart located on West Main street. Authorities have confirmed the plane, which is believed to have been stolen, is a fixed wing multi-engine 1987 Beech C90A model. (www.foxnews.com) More...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
This reminds me of the pilot in the Northwest who stole the plane and later crashed it. Maybe airport employees should have access to aircraft NEVER when not directly working on them.
So the thief was “crazy” but not not “stupid”.
The owner of that plane has got to be pissed.
How does someone steal an airplane? Can't the wheels be locked somehow? Can planes be chained to the floor of a hangar? I assume there is no ignition key, but can't the engine be disabled in some way? Obviously, I'm not a pilot. What could be done?
There is indeed a key to both the doors and the ignition, similar to a car. Where I learned to fly, the aircraft were parked outside (hangar space was more expensive), and the keys were in a binder in the office. The office was locked after hours, but during the day, it wouldn't have been hard to get to them, but relatively few people would have known where to look, and I guess the ones that did were honest. Of course, the fuel truck was also kept locked when not in use.
The aircraft on the ramp are already tied down to eye loops in the ground (in order to avoid movement by wind); it would certainly be conceivable to find a way to lock these. But it's funny to think, over 20 years after 9/11, that most general aviation airports still work on the principle of security through obscurity.
The aircraft on the ramp are already tied down to eye loops in the ground (in order to avoid movement by wind); it would certainly be conceivable to find a way to lock these. But it's funny to think, over 20 years after 9/11, that most general aviation airports still work on the principle of security through obscurity.
Airports have security, and the subset of people who want to steal and can actually fly a plane is pretty small.
Suspect the plane was based there in the FBO hangar. It is possible they had a key. Making any modification to the plane would be very difficult if not impossible. There are planes with the same key, for example all aero commanders had only one key that fit all, and that was the same with Aerostar.