F-16s Tracking Stolen Cessna

F-16s Tracking Stolen Cessna

abcnews.go.com

Over the skies of the Midwest, two F-16 fighter jets are escorting a private Cessna 172 aircraft stolen from a flight school in Ontario, Canada, whose pilot has been unresponsive to multiple requests that he establish communications with ground controllers.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Here's more...
The plane entered American airspace over Michigan's Upper Peninsula and has been trailed by the military aircraft since 3:25 p.m. today as it has flown over Minnesota and south through Wisconsin.

The aircraft is now flying along the western edge of Illinois toward St. Louis. At one point, the Wisconsin state capitol building in Madison was evacuated as a precaution as the plane flew over the city.

I wonder if this is common or not.
I remember a few years back a kid stole a similar plane and crashed it into a building in Florida.
I wonder if this plane will be shot down.
I wonder if this story will disappear.

abcnews.go.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Holy Cow! Dude is just cruisin and paying no mind to those F-16's. I have a bad feeling that this will not end good. Staying tuned......

i can't find anything more about this yet.\
i hope there is more.
could be a kid taking a joy ride, or a drug dealer, or... hmm..
anyway, i'm keeping my eye on it since i have nothing else to do.

I hope its not some nut with a suitcase nuke! We sure know its not a Canadian trying to cross the border for a better life! Sorry I could not resist

[edit on 4/6/2009 by PammyK]

He pretty much screwed up his life no matter what he does now. He could be charged with multiple counts of terrorism.

Goofy Little Canadian Bastard eh?

God I love my country.

On a serious note however, A CESNA isn't going to have much fuel to run forever, so eventually he's gonna have to put it down. The F-16's know this, they're not gonna shoot it down unless they know it's headed towards some sort of target.

~Keeper

Fox News is covering this story right now, they say the plane has landed in a highway in Missouri about 15 minutes ago. I assume the highway was closed down so he could land it.

[edit on 6-4-2009 by Leto]

He has landed on a Hwy in Missouri and is on the run! Yeah! on foot! Run boy run!

The pilot landed on Highway 60 and is on the run.

This story stinks to high heaven. Why on earth would a Cessna at a flight school have extra tanks onboard? The max range of a 172 is about 687nm. It's 1850 miles from Ontario to St Louis.

[edit on 4/6/2009 by Zaphod58]

Originally posted by Leto
He pretty much screwed up his life no matter what he does now. He could be charged with multiple counts of terrorism.

Which is why I can't help but think he's just gonna go down in a blaze of glory! Humming Bon Jovi all the way down! Do we have any idea what Nationality he is? Maybe he's just heading home. He's probably just homesick

Dude landed on the HIghway? And is running?



That beats any California car chase I have ever seen!!!

That's why they call it the "Show Me" state! Show me that California!!!

reply to post by kleverone


I would assume he's Canadian, getting one of those planes from a flight school is no easy deal really. It's not anybody can just walk up onto the airfield and take one.

Probably a student or something of that nature, wanted a little joy ride. It's sad, this kid probably end up in Gitmo or something ridiculous like that.

CNN is also covering the story if anybody is interested...

~Keeper

haha, that's funny.
how old do you have to be to be able to land a plane I wonder

Watching the CNN coverage, apparently the guy owned a black SUV, the cops were using a robot to open the door just in case it was booby-trapped.

reply to post by Leto


A black SUV? did you say he owned it?
If that's the case then we know who it is maybe

edit; can't spell

[edit on 6-4-2009 by aboxoftrix]

To answer your age question, I had my glider license at 16 and took my CESNA at 18, but I know of kids who have gotten it at 16 with the right training.

Black SUV eh? Sounds kinda strange, why not just drive accross the boarder. Did he actually think NORAD would not notice?

Maybe he was hoping for another 9/11 type reaction from them

A federal law enforcement official told CNN the pilot is a naturalized Canadian citizen, but declined to give his name or country of origin. The source said the pilot was a flight school student for a "brief" period and only clocked a few hours of flight time.

That's from CNN.
~Keeper

[edit on 4/6/2009 by tothetenthpower]

Originally posted by aboxoftrix
haha, that's funny.
how old do you have to be to be able to land a plane I wonder

What does age have to do with it? There are qualified pilots that are 13 years old, and pilots that have flown across country that are younger than that.

Originally posted by aboxoftrix
reply to post by Leto

 

A black SUV? did you say he owned it?
If that's the case then we know who it is maybe

edit; can't spell

[edit on 6-4-2009 by aboxoftrix]

Yes I'm quite certain they know full well who it is, they're just cautious of releasing names early, especially considering they haven't yet caught the guy, he's still running.

tracking a cessna with f-16s - WTF ??????????????

thats TOTAL overkill

a bloody chinook helicopter has the speed and range to overhaul a freaking cessna

and it can carry a serction of infantry / some police officers to chase the guy if he does put down in a feild or on a road