Authorities in Mississippi have charged Cory Wayne Patterson with grand larceny and making terrorist threats after he stole a plane and threatened to purposely crash into a Walmart shop while flying around the state for five hours.
The 29-year-old airport worker who allegedly knew how to take off but not land, might face federal charges as well, according to Tupelo police chief John Quaka. Patterson stole the Beechcraft King Air 90 jet just after 5 a.m. on September 3. At 9.30 a.m., he wrote a farewell message on Facebook. “I apologize to everyone. I never intended to harm anyone. This isn’t your fault; I adore my parents and sister. “Goodbye,” Patterson concluded.
That was the start of an irregular flight. Patterson contacted 911 15 minutes later, saying he was about to smash into a Tupelo Walmart. Officers removed customers from a neighboring Walmart and convenience shop.
The city’s police department published a statement while the jet circled above Tupelo, claiming it had been “notified that a pilot of an airplane (probably a King Air type) was flying over Tupelo, a city in north-east Mississippi.” The pilot has made contact with E911 and has threatened to crash into Walmart on West Main.”
Flightaware captured an aircraft flying abstract patterns over the city. According to video uploaded on Twitter, the jet was flying in circles over residences and businesses.
The pilot then flew north before landing in a field in Ripley, Mississippi, some 45 miles north of Tupelo. Tupelo mayor Todd Jordan termed the deal “the best possible scenario” after Patterson was detained. Patterson, according to the mayor, will “receive the treatment he needs,” as per reports from The Guardian.
During the flight, police negotiators attempted to persuade Patterson to land, but he had no idea how. A private pilot then coached him towards nearly landing at Tupelo Airport.
The effort, however, was abandoned, and Patterson resumed his meandering flight. A negotiator re-established contact at 10 a.m. to hear that Patterson had crashed the plane in a soya bean field and was unharmed.
The theft of the jet, according to Peter Goelz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, demonstrated the vulnerability of tiny airports.
“If you’ve got a trained pilot who can get in and grab a business jet, you’ve got a pretty lethal weapon there,” he said.
