Man arrested after stealing plane from North Las Vegas airport

FPK1

FPK1

Line Up and Wait
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Orange County, CA
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FPK1
Seems there's a bit more to the story ... and it appears (if the photos from some news sites are correct) that the the Kitfox he stole was a tailwheel airplane. Not an easy taildragger to land when you are sober ... :dunno:


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I recall reading of a transient Cirrus getting broke into there a few days ago.
 
North Las Vegas (VGT) has a tower, Ground Control, and lots of traffic. I hope the story comes out about what happened from the time he started the airplane to the time he took off.

The name in the article is Damian Zukaitis. The Airmen Registry has someone by that name with a Class 1 Medical and a 2018 Student Pilot certificate, but an Idaho street address. Googling the name brings up a 2018 photo with congratulations on a first solo. There also is a video in which someone by the same name, and looking a lot like the first solo photo sings “Color My World.” I listened to it so you don’t have to.

This guy should’ve invested in DeleteMe!
 
OneCharlieTango said:
North Las Vegas (VGT) has a tower, Ground Control, and lots of traffic. I hope the story comes out about what happened from the time he started the airplane to the time he took off.
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KVGT also has a LiveATC archive. The article points to a time of around 2:00 p.m. on December 30. Maybe someone can scrub the audio and find his taxi and takeoff clearance.
 
TrueCourse said:
I recall reading of a transient Cirrus getting broke into there a few days ago.
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There were a number of aircraft tampered with at the North Las Vegas airport (KVGT) over the last week. They are pinning all of those break-ins, damage and tampering to him. Details were posted from the FAA database on the thief. Student certificate and Class 1 medical from June 2018.
 
Daleandee said:
I didn't see what he said as controversial as there are many that are leaving. Not to worry as there are more coming and the new law for free healthcare is gonna be quite an attraction to so many more ... :dunno:
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"Many" is not "most."

I, for one, would not mind a little less traffic around here, but other than the height of the pandemic, I have yet to see it.
 
Palmpilot said:
"Many" is not "most."

I, for one, would not mind a little less traffic around here, but other than the height of the pandemic, I have yet to see it.
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I pulled that post down after considering it wasn't very considerate. But California is a mess as far as I can tell ...
 
Daleandee said:
I pulled that post down after considering it wasn't very considerate. But California is a mess as far as I can tell ...
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Every state has good things and bad things about it, as far as I can tell. Determining which states are better on balance would require finding objective sources of information, and is more effort than I have time for. In any case, I've reached a time in my life when moving is not a decision that I make as easily as I used to.
 
Airport obviously needs a fence, and more aggressive guards.

Attempted thefts on 3 consecutive days, successful theft the 4th day.

Someone needs to riter this up in long paragraphs and badges to sew on our flight jackets. Maybe they should have delayed him at the FBO until they matched him up with a plane that he was authorized to fly? No, that would negate his Constitutional freedoms. Maybe even delay the theft.

Fortunately for the owner and his insurance company, the guy could fly.............

There is some sarcasm sprinkled through this post.:)
 
geezer said:
Airport obviously needs a fence, and more aggressive guards.

Attempted thefts on 3 consecutive days, successful theft the 4th day.

Someone needs to riter this up in long paragraphs and badges to sew on our flight jackets. Maybe they should have delayed him at the FBO until they matched him up with a plane that he was authorized to fly? No, that would negate his Constitutional freedoms. Maybe even delay the theft.

Fortunately for the owner and his insurance company, the guy could fly.............

There is some sarcasm sprinkled through this post.:)
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Roger on the sarcasm...

They have fence, gates, passcode or swipe card for access. Sticker for your vehicle, but no "airport ID". Any student gets the gate code from their school. The swipe card is a generic card, not specific to a vehicle. Guards! HaHaHa... Like a lot of Post 9/11 airports.

Now, another airport I frequent, ID card with picture and "clearance" issued. ID card is swipe card, but you also have to type in your personal PIN.
 
I love the concept of people thinking they can know who is on the airport grounds - they think that requiring everyone to badge/swipe in (no tailgating) means they'll know who is there. Which ignores the RUNWAYS where people depart and arrive

:crazy:
 
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