Cessna 172 Down at KBNA

Fearless Tower said:
Anything is possible, but if you were smuggling, I would think that the Class C airport that is manned 24/7 would be the last place you'd want to go.
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Sure, until the intended airport of landing is fogged over and you're almost out of gas and it is sneak into the Class C airport or die.
 
Fearless Tower said:
FWIW, according to the article, he did land at Pelee Island....or at least contacted someone and reported that he had arrived.
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So if he took off from Pelee island airport he would be in US Airspace before he got to 2000 ft. It is right on the border. Once he crossed the border he would blend right in.

Heart attack on take off? And by PURE chance it hit in the middle of BNA? A smuggler would never try to land undetected in the middle of a Class C airport.

?????

ChrisK said:
Sure, until the intended airport of landing is fogged over and you're almost out of gas and it is sneak into the Class C airport or die.
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KMQY - Smyrna Airport (10 nm SE)
KJWN - John C Tune Airport (11 nm W)
M54 - Lebanon Municipal Airport (18 nm E)
M33 - Sumner County Regional Airport (20 nm NE)
KMBT - Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (21 nm SE)

Are all nearby airports with instrument approaches. At least half of them are non-tower airports.

Jim
 
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According to Skyvector.com, it's 419 NM from Windsor to Pelee to Nashville. Easily done in a 172.
 
I am sure it's easy enough to fly across the Canadian/US border VFR in a 172 without filing a flight plan or clearing customs, not legal, but not that difficult. I am not saying you wouldn't get caught, but turning off the transponder, flying low and slow might go unnoticed. :dunno:
Then why wouldn't he stop at an airport and buy fuel on his way to Nashville? Just land at Podunk International, fill up at the self serve and go on his merry way! ;)
I am not saying this actually happened, but it's not that hard to imagine.;)

"According to Skyvector.com, it's 419 NM from Windsor to Pelee to Nashville. Easily done in a 172."
Or he could have flown direct!
 
Kiddo's Driver said:
Are all nearby airports with instrument approaches. At least half of them are non-tower airports.
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Was he a VFR pilot? As a VFR pilot if I couldn't see the ground in the area I would be tempted to head for the brightest biggest airport with the longest runways possible (which is effectively what my instructor told me to do if I was REALLY in trouble).

Difference is I'd be on the radio asking for help.
 
N747JB said:
"According to Skyvector.com, it's 419 NM from Windsor to Pelee to Nashville. Easily done in a 172."
Or he could have flown direct!
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Except that the most recent article indicates he contacted someone after landing at Pelee.
 
For reference.

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I'm waiting to hear if the body in the plane is the guy who rented it. If it is not him, where is his body? Dumped in lake Erie by the guy who stole the plane?

Jim
 
The newsies are asking the wrong people the wrong questions. Of course the airport isn't going to talk, and the NTSB doesn't comment on ongoing investigations. How about asking CBP if the aircraft filed an eAPIS entry or was tracked entering the US? Anybody see a Cessna flying low-level from Pelee Island to one of the Bass Islands on the US side?

On a foggy night at 3am, tower isn't going to see or detect jack if a transponder-less Cessna with a non-instrument rated pilot decides to shoot a Cat III approach.
 
Brad Z said:
The newsies are asking the wrong people the wrong questions.
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I think you probably have a point there. Until they start asking the right people the right questions, this is isn't going to get any clearer.
 
Smugglin' some of that high quality Kentucky Grass back to Canada!

(I keep seeing that scene from Super Troopers where they are loading grass from the semi to the Piper Cherokee...)
 
Even if the transponder was cut off there should have been a radar return unless my memory of the system operation has failed miserably.
 
pilot_dude said:
Even if the transponder was cut off there should have been a radar return unless my memory of the system operation has failed miserably.
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Who needs the F-22 stealth capability when you have the invisible 172?
 
bbchien said:
I'm thinkin, FBI....

"drugs make you dumb". I mean, use BNA?
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Even worse. It's going to trickle out piecemeal over the next couple of days. Falls under DHS/ICE jurisdiction, not FBI or DEA.
 
Maybe.......

So the pilot rents the plane and flys to Pelee.
As he is getting out, he gets jumped by 3 dudes.
He was totally caught off guard otherwise he could have taken them. He is a pilot after all and that means he is a badass.

Unfortunately, they get the best of him and he is now in the lake.

Prior to jumping the pilot, they kidnapped a student from the local flight school with about 30 hours and handed him a cellphone. On the other end he could his girlfriend saying "Do whatever they say or they are going to kill me"

He has no choice. They instruct him to fly directly to the Bowling Green VOR. They dial it in and they then cut the wires to the radio so he cannot call for help. They also jam the transponder.

The bad dudes, fill the plane with as much heroin as they can without exceeding max takeoff weight.

They instruct him to drop the drugs out as soon as he passed over the VOR.

He says "Where do you want me to land?"
They say "That is not our concern. Now you better get goin."


Pretty sure that is the only possible explanation. ;)
 
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OK, if we're coming up with wild theories; The pilot a mid 40's married guy has a girlfriend that has moved to Nashville TN. She calls him desperately wanting to see him (booty call) he knows he can't fly commercially to BNA, his wife will see the credit card. He figures he can rent the plane, fly to Pelee island to go fishing, then sneak away VFR to BNA and spend a couple days with the old girlfriend! :yes:
That's as good as any theory so far. :D
 
N747JB said:
OK, if we're coming up with wild theories; The pilot a mid 40's married guy has a girlfriend that has moved to Nashville TN. She calls him desperately wanting to see him (booty call) he knows he can't fly commercially to BNA, his wife will see the credit card. He figures he can rent the plane, fly to Pelee island to go fishing, then sneak away VFR to BNA and spend a couple days with the old girlfriend! :yes:
That's as good as any theory so far. :D
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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Yes!



(Or maybe Pete finally passed his checkride.)
 
EdLarkin said:
According to Skyvector.com, it's 419 NM from Windsor to Pelee to Nashville. Easily done in a 172.
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If direct from Pelee, he had to go through Cincinnati Class B (unless over 10,000 feet). You would think someone would have him on radar.
 
N747JB said:
OK, if we're coming up with wild theories; The pilot a mid 40's married guy has a girlfriend that has moved to Nashville TN. She calls him desperately wanting to see him (booty call) he knows he can't fly commercially to BNA, his wife will see the credit card. He figures he can rent the plane, fly to Pelee island to go fishing, then sneak away VFR to BNA and spend a couple days with the old girlfriend! :yes:
That's as good as any theory so far. :D
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Ooh I like this theory too.
 
N747JB said:
OK, if we're coming up with wild theories; The pilot a mid 40's married guy has a girlfriend that has moved to Nashville TN. She calls him desperately wanting to see him (booty call) he knows he can't fly commercially to BNA, his wife will see the credit card. He figures he can rent the plane, fly to Pelee island to go fishing, then sneak away VFR to BNA and spend a couple days with the old girlfriend! :yes:
That's as good as any theory so far. :D
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As good as any other theory that's going around,too much non information on this case sop far.
 
pilot_dude said:
Even if the transponder was cut off there should have been a radar return unless my memory of the system operation has failed miserably.
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Not necessarily. In many busy traffic areas, Class B and C areas in particular, the radar sensitivity is often dialed back enough that they may not see a primary radar return...only the xpdr. At 0300 in the morning, it wouldn't surprise me if the controllers didn't see a radar return.
 
There is this somewhat good looking guy that is doing some night tailwheel training with a beautiful, flirty, cheeky CFI. They decide to fly out to this little island in the middle of Lake Erie to get to know each other better. In a rush, he leaves the master on. While his little hottie is freshening up, he decides to go out to preflight. He finds the battery dead, sets the parking brake and proceeds to hand prop it. It starts at 1/2 throttle and takes off on its own towards the south. Several hours later it crashes in Nashville. They decide to stay on the island and he is now starting to work on his float rating.

Well, no more beer for me tonight.
 
bbchien said:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/1...h-was-supposed-to-be-landing-on-pelee-island/

If this is the guy.....well, it had to be something like that....
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Hmmmm...

A clip from the posted article...

A man named Michael Callan of the same age has a criminal record dating back to the late 1990s in Windsor, including a number of violent bank robberies.
A Michael Callan was also facing charges in connection with a child porn crackdown by Windsor police last year. During a two-week period in late 2011, police allege he used his own laptop to openly watch pornography at Chapters bookstore in Devonshire Mall, and while riding a Transit Windsor Bus on two occasions.
Callan was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison after a yearlong crime spree between November 1996 and December 1997. He pulled several heists, including one where he pointed a handgun at the belly of a pregnant teller.
Callan’s 1997 arrest came after he ditched a stolen car not far from the Windsor Flying Club, entered the club carrying a bag, changed his clothes and left. Suspicious club members provided police with his name.
Gillies declined to comment on Callan’s past


He sounded like a Model citizen...:no::nonod::yikes:
 
timwinters said:
It's getting more bizarre by the minute.

And what's up with Nashville? Isn't that where the drug smuggler dude landed the Beech 18 wheels up at the closed airport recently? Or was that another town in the SE?
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Yeah, that was at Cornelia Fort Airport, just north of BNA and also home of the infamous submarine Mooney. Some characters, fer sure.
 
timwinters said:
It's getting more bizarre by the minute.

And what's up with Nashville? Isn't that where the drug smuggler dude landed the Beech 18 wheels up at the closed airport recently? Or was that another town in the SE?
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I remember seeing the news about the twin doing a belly landing at a closed airport right after it happened. He claimed it was an emergency landing and that he just had not reported it yet. The grass looked long and undisturbed behind the plane.
I never heard anything else after that. Time to search!

Sounds like the BNA guy could not find his airport and tried to sneak it into BNA. No light, no transponder,...?

Jim
 
timwinters said:
It's getting more bizarre by the minute.

And what's up with Nashville? Isn't that where the drug smuggler dude landed the Beech 18 wheels up at the closed airport recently? Or was that another town in the SE?
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That was Nashville.

There was the biggest drug bust in TN history at BNA a couple of years ago.
 
timwinters said:
It's getting more bizarre by the minute.

And what's up with Nashville? Isn't that where the drug smuggler dude landed the Beech 18 wheels up at the closed airport recently? Or was that another town in the SE?
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From a quick Google search:
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TN/Airfields_TN_C.html
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]An April 2012 photo of a Beech 18 which landed gear-up at Cornelia Fort more than a year after the airport closed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]According a 4/22/12 Nashville Police Department press release, “Metro Police & the Federal Aviation Administration[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]are working to identify the person or persons who crash landed a 1961 Beechcraft twin-engine airplane on grass at the closed Cornelia Fort Airpark in East Nashville.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The airpark has been out of operation for a number of months & is presently under the control of the Metro Parks Department.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Large yellow Xs are painted on the runway as a sign to aircraft that the facility is closed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]A Parks Department maintenance worker noticed the airplane in the grass to the left of the runway Saturday morning.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]When it was still there today, the worker notified Parks Police officers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The landing gear mechanism on the airplane apparently became inoperable.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]It is believed the pilot(s) cut the engines before belly-landing the plane in a large grassy area adjacent to the runway.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Markings in the grass show that the plane traveled about 2/10th of a mile before coming to a stop. The propellers & engines show obvious damage.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The plane is registered to Great American Transportation, Inc., which lists its address as Cornelia Fort Airpark.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The plane is believed to have been housed at the airpark in the past.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]At this point, it is unknown who or what was onboard the airplane. There is no indication that anyone was seriously injured.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]No cargo or contraband was located when officers arrived today.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The airplane was not in contact with the Nashville control tower, nor was a flight plan filed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]It likely arrived in the dark late Friday or early Saturday.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Officers & the FAA will also be working to learn the plane’s whereabouts over the past several weeks.”[/FONT]​
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The story from the pilot's point of view plus some background info on his colorful past, including international drug running:
http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2012/04/nashville-police-investigate-downed.html

More info on his past including stealing a plane and extorting the owner to return it:
http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/...f-two-leads-mystery-deepens-in-airplane-crash
 
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Fearless Tower said:
Not necessarily. In many busy traffic areas, Class B and C areas in particular, the radar sensitivity is often dialed back enough that they may not see a primary radar return...only the xpdr. At 0300 in the morning, it wouldn't surprise me if the controllers didn't see a radar return.
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Thank you
 
One can get a Canadian pilot certificate with that kind of a criminal record?
 
Even if the TRACON controller did notice it, to them its probably birds or a false return. I see plenty of primaries and its almost always migratory birds or even an airport vehicle. At no point would the thought enter my head, hey that's a scud runner with no intention to talk to the tower. Depending on the speed actually flown, winds, and any turns made, the actual ground speed track of a Skyhawk can be similar to a bird.

That is in ideal conditions. Knowing the TRACON controller probably left work 8 hours before they reported back for duty again. Knowing what its like to spend a mid shift on 3 hours of sleep in a dark room with nothing but the soft hum of the cooling fans of the scopes going... Its pretty easy from my end to see how they missed the scud runner who didn't call up while the tower was so socked in they couldn't see.

This is just bizarre.
 
WSMV tonight had a big break with some audio they got allegedly around the time the incident happened.

"Calling Nashville approach, say again you're weak and unreadable..."

I can't believe they held that til the 5PM hour, as opposed to stringing us along at 4:30, "with details at 5"

They got me. Reel me in and get the net.


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