Airplane theft is an exceedingly uncommon crime. The pool of potential aircraft thieves is not massive, with there being fewer than 1 million lively pilots in the US. Nevertheless, one aircraft proprietor has been figuratively struck by lightning twice. A single Cessna 172 was stolen twice over the previous week from two normal aviation airports in Southern California. The plane was discovered and recovered each occasions, however legislation enforcement has but to establish a suspect in both theft.
It might have been arduous to overlook Jason Hong’s Cessna 172 at Corona Airport, roughly 18 miles west of Anaheim. The 75-year-old’s aircraft is painted in distinctive pink, orange, yellow and blue stripes. It isn’t but clear how or when the Cessna departed the airport, however Hong contacted the Corona Police Division as soon as he realized the aircraft was lacking, KCAL studies. The one-engine plane was discovered parked at one other airport, Brackett Subject, 17 miles away.
Small planes are simple to steal if you will get previous the fence
Hong realized that the aircraft’s battery was lifeless when he went to retrieve it. He instructed the airport’s supervisor that he’d come again in a number of days with a fully-charged battery. Nevertheless, the aircraft went lacking once more. The Cessna was discovered at San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte, California, roughly 12 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, by the El Monte Police Division. Patrol officers discovered the aircraft parked on the tarmac, chained to a bolt. This time, we all know the aircraft was flown to the airport as a result of the power’s CCTV digital camera would have seen the plane towed by the gates. In accordance with KNBC, an eyewitness noticed a lady with the aircraft on the airport.
Whereas industrial airliners do not have ignition keys, it is not a assure that small turboprop planes do as properly. Small planes usually do not have locks both. Probably the most important deterrent to personal aircraft theft is the safety on the airport when the aircraft is parked. In accordance with KVVU, a string of aircraft thefts in 2024, three over six weeks throughout your complete nation, led to a rise in scrutiny over its poor safety at normal aviation airports. A stolen 1,700-pound single-engine may not pose the identical menace as a 65,300-pound twin-engine jet, however it could actually nonetheless be a hazard to the general public if anybody can simply take one for a joyride.