Airplane stolen at Cottonwood AZ airport 12/31/20

The trailer itself was probably the main target of the theft.

Ron Wanttaja
:yeahthat: The thieves probably didn't even know or care what was in it... now they gotta dispose of something big and conspicuous... and could be facing federal charges... :yikes:
 
Shortly after I got my first plane my, and several other hangars, were broken into and the 172 next to mine was stolen and wrecked. My plane was in the flight schools hangar at another airport where I was taking lessons or mine would have been taken.

This took place in the Houston area and the FBI got heavily involved thinking it was an attempt by a terrorist to crash a plane into a nearby chemical plant.

In the end it was a guy that got drunk and decided to fulfill his lifelong fantasy of flying an airplane. He made it to the power lines a mile or so south of the runway. The plane hung up in the power lines by its propped and the plane hit tail-first, crushing the fuselage up to the back of the wings.

The drunk didn’t get a scratch, managed to get out of the plane and walked home. He turned himself into the local sherrif’s office after seeing a news conference by the FBI and homeland security announcing there search for the possible terrorist. He got 5- or 10-years in a federal pen.

I don’t leave my keys in my plane while it’s in my hangar like I used to.

gary
 
Shortly after I got my first plane my, and several other hangars, were broken into and the 172 next to mine was stolen and wrecked. My plane was in the flight schools hangar at another airport where I was taking lessons or mine would have been taken.

This took place in the Houston area and the FBI got heavily involved thinking it was an attempt by a terrorist to crash a plane into a nearby chemical plant.

In the end it was a guy that got drunk and decided to fulfill his lifelong fantasy of flying an airplane. He made it to the power lines a mile or so south of the runway. The plane hung up in the power lines by its propped and the plane hit tail-first, crushing the fuselage up to the back of the wings.

The drunk didn’t get a scratch, managed to get out of the plane and walked home. He turned himself into the local sherrif’s office after seeing a news conference by the FBI and homeland security announcing there search for the possible terrorist. He got 5- or 10-years in a federal pen.

I don’t leave my keys in my plane while it’s in my hangar like I used to.

gary
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-...unken-birthday-led-to-plane-caper-1523434.php

The guy has been arrested multiple times since for some pretty serious charges. He got 6 years for the plane heist.
 
Shortly after I got my first plane my, and several other hangars, were broken into and the 172 next to mine was stolen and wrecked. My plane was in the flight schools hangar at another airport where I was taking lessons or mine would have been taken.

This took place in the Houston area and the FBI got heavily involved thinking it was an attempt by a terrorist to crash a plane into a nearby chemical plant.

In the end it was a guy that got drunk and decided to fulfill his lifelong fantasy of flying an airplane. He made it to the power lines a mile or so south of the runway. The plane hung up in the power lines by its propped and the plane hit tail-first, crushing the fuselage up to the back of the wings.

The drunk didn’t get a scratch, managed to get out of the plane and walked home. He turned himself into the local sherrif’s office after seeing a news conference by the FBI and homeland security announcing there search for the possible terrorist. He got 5- or 10-years in a federal pen.

I don’t leave my keys in my plane while it’s in my hangar like I used to.

gary

Wow. 5-10 year? Under state law it seems like a theft of that value would be a lot less.
 
Wow. 5-10 year? Under state law it seems like a theft of that value would be a lot less.
Broke into 16 hangars. Earlier burglary charge and had other brushes with the law, including driving while intoxicated, driving with a suspended license and unauthorized use of a vehicle. So it wasn't a one off thing.
 
This is where I based at when doing my photo shoots in Sedona. In fact, I parked right there a few times to use the restroom that is on the end of the hangars.

90
 
Wouldn’t it be a federal problem - not state?

I had assumed that and that that was one of the reasons the penalty was so severe. However, not so sure now. Is it a Federal crime to steal something off an airport necessarily? Seems like a common law theft.
 
I had assumed that and that that was one of the reasons the penalty was so severe. However, not so sure now. Is it a Federal crime to steal something off an airport necessarily? Seems like a common law theft.

Technically, although my Google has failed me at the moment, pretty much anything "Aviation" is under federal rule and treated as a federal crime. Often times the FBI will defer the investigation and prosecution to the local law enforcement in minor cases.
 
Maybe the thief just wanted to put a trigear Kitfox out of its misery...
 
Lord help me, I've been looking at a tricycle gear Maule for a photo plane... I used one before and it's so easy to fly it seems to fit the Cessna slogan of land-o-matic.
 
Lord help me, I've been looking at a tricycle gear Maule for a photo plane... I used one before and it's so easy to fly it seems to fit the Cessna slogan of land-o-matic.
I did a demo flight in a tri gear Maule one time...the salesman said I was the first person he’d Demo’d to that didn’t touch down nose wheel first. :eek:
 
I did a demo flight in a tri gear Maule one time...the salesman said I was the first person he’d Demo’d to that didn’t touch down nose wheel first. :eek:
Strange. I never had that problem! It was a great flying plane.
 
Shortly after I got my first plane my, and several other hangars, were broken into and the 172 next to mine was stolen and wrecked. My plane was in the flight schools hangar at another airport where I was taking lessons or mine would have been taken.

This took place in the Houston area and the FBI got heavily involved thinking it was an attempt by a terrorist to crash a plane into a nearby chemical plant.

In the end it was a guy that got drunk and decided to fulfill his lifelong fantasy of flying an airplane. He made it to the power lines a mile or so south of the runway. The plane hung up in the power lines by its propped and the plane hit tail-first, crushing the fuselage up to the back of the wings.

I remember that well. Nobody knew what had happened, since the airplane was found hanging in the wires with nobody around. They found an open hangar and put the pieces together eventually...
 
They found an open hangar and put the pieces together eventually...
All the King's men couldn't put the plane back together again. Have you let the King's horses try?
 
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