Pilot wanted to be shot down, trooper says

Pilot wanted to be shot down, trooper says

edition.cnn.com

A man who commandeered a training plane in Canada and led U.S. military aircraft on a seven-hour flight across the Midwest told the officers who found him that he'd hoped he would be shot down, a Missouri state trooper said.


Adam Leon is accused of stealing a plane from a Canadian flight school.

1 of 3 "It was [attempted] suicide," said Lt. Jeffrey Vitale of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, one of the first five officers at the scene.

"He was very talkative. He told us everything that was going on. He was very friendly," Vitale said. "He hoped to get shot down by our Air Force."

Adam Dylan Leon, also known as Yavuz Berke, stole the Cessna 172 from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he was enrolled in Confederation College's Flight Aviation Management program, authorities said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Mod Edit: Trimmed down quoted material to comply with rules



[edit on 4/19/09 by FredT]

So here's your evil, warmongering USA in all its terrible savage glory.

This guy, I have no doubt a Turkish Muslim, deliberately tried to provoke the air force into shooting down his plane, which they didn't do in spite of his best attempts to convince them otherwise.

He lands in smalltown, eveyone has a gun and hates foreigners, USA, and what happens - a motorist stops to give him a ride to the local convenience store and gives him money for food.

Oh please forgive us world, we are truly an evil, trigger happy, xenophobic race.

edition.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 7-4-2009 by Retseh]

Sounds like a guy with emotional problems. Suicide by cop is not unheard of, somehow this does not strike me as being related to terrorism. Hope he gets the help he needs other than someone giving him money for gatorade.

Originally posted by Retseh

So here's your evil, warmongering USA in all its terrible savage glory.

This guy, I have no doubt a Turkish Muslim, deliberately tried to provoke the air force into shooting down his plane, which they didn't do in spite of his best attempts to convince them otherwise.

True, I'm really glad they didn't shoot him down. Not just because it would have been an international incident, but because hopefully this guy can get some help and lead a semi-productive life now. I just hope he doesn't rot in jail or get sent to gitmo, it sounds like he just needs some professional help.

I was looking to post this. I'm glad I used the search function.

I'm not to far from where the plane landed. Pretty weired that he landed in this area. Elsinore is nothing but a hole in the road pretty much. I am surprised that he wasn't shot down but they must have thought he wasn't that much of a threat.

Originally posted by Retseh

So here's your evil, warmongering USA in all its terrible savage glory.

This guy, I have no doubt a Turkish Muslim, deliberately tried to provoke the air force into shooting down his plane, which they didn't do in spite of his best attempts to convince them otherwise.

Well, the USA also doesn't shoot down planes that are on crash courses into the World Trade Centers, so this is no surprise!

They probably hoped he would crash into an important building so the US could go attack some country.

I'm really surprised he didn't just crash the plane, would have fullfilled his death wish. Or did he want to be killed by the US Military and the US Military only? Or is it possible that he just wanted to be "shot down" and not killed? hmm doesn't seem like it would have worked.

Sounds like the "Go out with a bang" mentality.

He probably felt his life was meaningless and wanted to leave the world something to remember him by... in a twisted way.



Either way, I'll bet he feels his life isn't so meaningless anymore!

Given that all of North America is now talking about him.



And no, it's pretty hard to view a Cessna as a threat, unless you're standing in front of it's propeller that is.

reply to post by johnsky


Sounds more like a delusional faux martyr to me.

I'm glad his attempted martyrdom failed, otherwise we wouldn't hear the end of it for quite some time.

He was just seeking attention IMO.

Up in air that long he could have easily done a nose-dive!

reply to post by secretagent woooman


Yes...! and in the process,as a result of the amount of reporting on this matter our enemies are assured once again that the individuals charged with the responsability to protect us cannot make a decision.....Not only did this individual violate our air space,seven hours went by and NO ONE made the decision to shot him down....