Teen Girls Steals King Air in Fresno

“Police described her as being disoriented and uncooperative.”

Drugs?
 
Never flown one, but turbo props aren’t the easiest thing to start. What I mean, it’s not like you turn a key and give ‘er a little gas - sort of deal...
 
kaiser said:
Never flown one, but turbo props aren’t the easiest thing to start. What I mean, it’s not like you turn a key and give ‘er a little gas - sort of deal...
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At least not older ones; she got one burning, in any case, which was enough to possibly total that plane.
 
The same thing happened at Manassas. Some drunks managed to get into one of Colgan's King Airs and start one engine. The thing spun around taking out four adjacent aircraft including the 172 I was signed up to rent the following morning and a real pretty Piper Lance. Not content with that they also threw beer cans all around and took a dump on one of the destroyed aircraft.

I came in the next morning trying to figure out how all this happened because all the damage was between the airport fence and the first few planes. The planes closer to the runway/taxiway were untouched. I got interviewed by some TV guys while I was leaving (after getting the word as to what happened). They wanted to know why the tower didn't notice. I pointed out that the large number of beer cans probably indicates that this happened after closing time at the local bars and the tower goes home at 11PM.

They did interview old man Colgan on TV. He's saying it has to be an inside job because it's not easy to start these things, unless you know how, then it's easy.
I suggested there might be a book in the cockpit with the instructions somewhere.

By the way it isn't hard if you're not too concerned with things (like setting the parking brake). Turn on the battery master, turn on the ignition, and advance the condition lever.
 
Had to have some knowledge of the aircraft and it’s systems in order to get one fired up like that. Agree that it’s not something the average Tom, Dick or Harry off the street could do.
 
Ryanb said:
Had to have some knowledge of the aircraft and it’s systems in order to get one fired up like that. Agree that it’s not something the average Tom, Dick or Harry off the street could do.
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It's on the checklist. Anybody with a half a brain or even one flying less can do it. There's a whole lot of things you have to do if you actually intend to get the thing into the air, but if you're just intending to get the engine started, it's easy.
 
Ryanb said:
Had to have some knowledge of the aircraft and it’s systems in order to get one fired up like that. Agree that it’s not something the average Tom, Dick or Harry off the street could do.
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With all the flight sim kiddies out there...
 
*this would be an interesting experiment.. take 50 random people off the street, give them a key, a checklist, a cockpit diagram, and a 172.. how many would be able to start it?
 
A lot easier to start a turbine if you aren't worried about damaging the engine. Even a hot start will result in a running engine once. What makes it hard is wanting to reuse the engine again.
 
Tantalum said:
*this would be an interesting experiment.. take 50 random people off the street, give them a key, a checklist, a cockpit diagram, and a 172.. how many would be able to start it?
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At least a dozen
 
hindsight2020 said:
Enough to depress wages at the regionals....:stirpot:
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homer-simpson-doh.gif


:lol::lol:
 
Tantalum said:
*this would be an interesting experiment.. take 50 random people off the street, give them a key, a checklist, a cockpit diagram, and a 172.. how many would be able to start it?
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Hey, that sounds a lot like my discovery flight!
 
An IA couldn't start my airplane. For real.

A few years ago I dropped my 182A off at a close by airport for an annual. It was evening so I slid my key through their dropbox & my wife picked me up in her car. The next morning the mechanic that was supposed to do my annual called & said " I don't mean to sound stupid but how do you start your airplane"? I laughed & told him where the starter button was.

You that have flown a mid-fifty 180/182 probably remember where the starter button is.

He chuckled when I pick up my airplane a few days later & said that I should have left the key in the magneto switch because most people couldn't start it anyway.
 
saddletramp said:
An IA couldn't start my airplane. For real.

A few years ago I dropped my 182A off at a close by airport for an annual. It was evening so I slid my key through their dropbox & my wife picked me up in her car. The next morning the mechanic that was supposed to do my annual called & said " I don't mean to sound stupid but how do you start your airplane"? I laughed & told him where the starter button was.

You that have flown a mid-fifty 180/182 probably remember where the starter button is.

He chuckled when I pick up my airplane a few days later & said that I should have left the key in the magneto switch because most people couldn't start it anyway.
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That reminds me of the 1953 Chevy sedan-delivery truck that I had when I lived in the Boston area. One night when I was parked on Beacon Hill, someone tried to steal it. It had an (original equipment) starter button on the dash. The poor dope who tried to steal it had completely disassembled the ignition switch trying to figure out how to get it started, and eventually gave up. :rofl:
 
Comment on other forum stated the girl's family were possibly prior owners of that King Air and she may have witnessed the start procedure before....
 
Bell206 said:
Comment on other forum stated the girl's family were possibly prior owners of that King Air and she may have witnessed the start procedure before....
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Maybe it was her emotional support airplane, and she was just trying to get it back.
 
Palmpilot said:
That reminds me of the 1953 Chevy sedan-delivery truck that I had when I lived in the Boston area. One night when I was parked on Beacon Hill, someone tried to steal it. It had an (original equipment) starter button on the dash. The poor dope who tried to steal it had completely disassembled the ignition switch trying to figure out how to get it started, and eventually gave up. :rofl:
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In the late 60s I learned to drive in the 1953 Chevy pickup my dad had bought new. It had a foot operated linkage that engaged the starter. The pedal was about 1¾" diameter, located to the right of the accelerator.
 
3393RP said:
In the late 60s I learned to drive in the 1953 Chevy pickup my dad had bought new. It had a foot operated linkage that engaged the starter. The pedal was about 1¾" diameter, located to the right of the accelerator.
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My '46 and '51 Willys Jeeps both had foot starters. The older one had a Bendix gear, on the newer one pressing the pedal mechanically jammed the starter gear into place, with the electrical switch engaging on the last half-inch of travel. Ironically, my Fly Baby has the same setup (but with a pull cable rather than a pedal).

Our CAP squadron got several Willys M38A1 Jeeps with similar setups, since I had experience, I got to train cadets how to drive them. Used to have them drive halfway up a steep embankment, then reach over, kill the engine, and request that they get moving again without rolling back down the hill.

Right foot on brake. Left foot to clutch. Shift engine to neutral.
Left foot to brake. Right foot to starter pedal. Start engine, using the right heel to blip the gas.
Right foot back to brake. Left foot to clutch. Shift into first, and go.

Ron Wanttaja
 
"A motive for the theft is being investigated, but police do not believe she had any kind of terrorism intentions."
She succeeded at terrorizing her parents with that fiasco!

The FBO building that was hit and the girl are both extremely lucky there wasn't an explosion or fire.

What happens to minors who cause major damage?
 
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Im not sure I follow the “it was similar to the event in alaska” well besides the fact it was airplane theft similarities end fast... she got one fired n taxied to a crash on the ramp and was incoherent... He lit em up, taxied fine, took off, flew it around like he was in an airshow, had coherent conversation with ATC and chose suicide...

Reminds me of a similar event, a kid stole my car and crashed it nearby, sure different vehicle type but really really similar in all other ways.... totally comparable...
 
Rein Hart said:
What happens to minors who cause major damage?
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Depends on whether the socioeconomics of the accused can afford him/her the "affluenza" defense.

Heck, if she applies herself and gets her certs she'll probably make it to Delta quicker than the "career changer" cannon fodder on here :D i keed i keed
 
At one point after 9/11, some of the airports' TSA people were patrolling the ramps to make sure we locked the cabin door, even for a quickturn.
Seems like a prudent idea especially if the airplane is parked overnight.
We all know it won't stop a determined thief but it might stop a teenager.
 
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