Cherokee down presidio county, TX

Wow I cant believe they didn’t block out the tail number in the photo!
 
Well a crime has been committed that is under investigation and I would think they wouldnt want the registered owner of the aircraft being advertised all over the internet. And yet it is there for all to see so maybe they do.
 
Rgbeard said:
I don’t see license plates blocked out on wrecked cars in the news.

Motivation to do this seems kinda zip.
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Googling a license plate doesn't return a name, address, and phone number.

An N number should be the same, but alas, it's not.
 
Apparently the owner reports to be a business owner “West Texas Imports” according to his Facebook page.
 
I'm sure putting 6 people in a little Cherokee had nothing to do with it.
 
The registered owner of that plane shows up in the FAA Airman search with an interesting notation: Certificate: PRIVATE PILOT(FOREIGN BASED).

It seems he has a Mexican pilot certificate, and was issued an FAA certificate that's good only when accompanied by the one from Mexico. He got that from the FAA about a month after buying the Piper.
 
Seems a bit early to presume it was the owner and not “borrowed” and we oughta wait for info. I’ve heard SO MANY stories of stolen airplanes down there.
 
And this is why they should have blocked out the number. Some of us have a theory as to what happened, and some of us just have a hunch but ALL of us have a name an an address! Just seems like too much information about someone who more than likely is a victim of aircraft theft.
 
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Sounds like the owner sold the plane a few weeks ago.
 
LesGawlik said:
I'm sure putting 6 people in a little Cherokee had nothing to do with it.
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It's a 235. If the people were on the smaller size it was likely still within useful load (1450lbs).
 
Kyle N said:
It's a 235. If the people were on the smaller size it was likely still within useful load (1450lbs).
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I’d be interested to know if it was 6 total or 6passengers +pilot.

I’d imagine the GC could have been a little interesting so you have to give the pilot some credit for flying it all the way to the ground… then running away.
 
MrAnderson said:
I’d be interested to know if it was 6 total or 6passengers +pilot.

I’d imagine the GC could have been a little interesting so you have to give the pilot some credit for flying it all the way to the ground… then running away.
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I meant to add a caveat to my statement... no idea where CG would have been!
 
It's been many years since we had a smuggler crash there (the one I recall was about 5mi N of the field, the wreckage was still on a ridge in the desert last time I looked). That time, it was drugs, a piston twin, couldn't climb and the 2 sob walked to the nearby highway for a ride.
 
Off-topic, but if they did this in a Cirrus, they wouldn't have to worry so much about landing. Fly "mission", pull chute. Plus we'd also use up fewer PA-28's that way. I know, selfish...
 
“You’ll put your eye out!”

Really only one way I can think of they suspect he lost an eye, . . . .yuck.
 
47PILOT said:
At a minimum of 12k ea I’m sure this is happening on a regular basis
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The other activity is para-gliders flying south to north illegal at night. KDNA is just a couple of miles north of the border and when I did night flights I could hear them pretty regularly as I was putting the plane away at midnight. Am guessing that activity has died down as they're running a lot of helicopters at night and there are drone sensors everywhere that can jam the RF on the drones if needed ...
 
Just got back from a job in Presidio.
Sorry if this appears as 'gossip'; perhaps it can be considered "unsubstantiated, but useful info"?
(I probably wouldn't post if it was a typical crash, except it feels like all niceties may fall away when it's obvious a serious crime has been committed, no?)

The locals tell me that responders found the aircraft with 6 people aboard, or outside the airplane and the pilot was awol (that makes 7 in a Cherokee!). I presume some of those must have been children or very very small adults. One was a largish person who could not ambulate so they had to carry this person some distance through the desert to ground vehicles and it was not. very. easy.

Stop here if you wish to avoid ugly details.

I had been wondering how the police reports state that the pilot lost an eye in the wreck. Did the pax tell the responders? Well, the same people telling me the above story say that the responders found 'an eye with nerve tissue, dangling from the yoke'. (I did warn you. Didn't listen, did you?)
Dang, a tough dude to run away though the desert after a major head injury and manage to evade police and the border patrol checkpoint a few miles north. Maybe he ran to Mexico.
He has certainly made a good deposit on payment for his crime.
 
Well that escalated quickly
 
Dude can crash a plane and tear off a nad then run out into the desert and hide with nothing but a cactus and a rattlesnake skin to stitch himself up with? I’m saying you don’t want to catch him.
 
He might be tough, but he sure doesn't sound bright.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Just got back from a job in Presidio.
Sorry if this appears as 'gossip'; perhaps it can be considered "unsubstantiated, but useful info"?
(I probably wouldn't post if it was a typical crash, except it feels like all niceties may fall away when it's obvious a serious crime has been committed, no?)

The locals tell me that responders found the aircraft with 6 people aboard, or outside the airplane and the pilot was awol (that makes 7 in a Cherokee!). I presume some of those must have been children or very very small adults. One was a largish person who could not ambulate so they had to carry this person some distance through the desert to ground vehicles and it was not. very. easy.

Stop here if you wish to avoid ugly details.

I had been wondering how the police reports state that the pilot lost an eye in the wreck. Did the pax tell the responders? Well, the same people telling me the above story say that the responders found 'an eye with nerve tissue, dangling from the yoke'. (I did warn you. Didn't listen, did you?)
Dang, a tough dude to run away though the desert after a major head injury and manage to evade police and the border patrol checkpoint a few miles north. Maybe he ran to Mexico.
He has certainly made a good deposit on payment for his crime.
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I’m sure all the authorities will keep an eye out for him
 
Land of the blind jokes aside I don’t for a hot second believe they found an eyeball dangling anywhere…
 
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