A longtime airport worker is in police custody after stealing an airplane early Saturday morning. The man, recognized as Cory Wayne Patterson by police, threatened to crash the plane right into a Mississippi Walmart. However, Cory finally landed in a discipline—the place authorities arrested him.
According to Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka, Cory was an worker of Tupelo Aviation for the final 10 years. He labored as a lineman—chargeable for refueling the planes.
But on Saturday, he selected to maneuver exterior his regular work duties. During a information convention, the chief revealed Cory stole the twin-engine airplane at 5:08 a.m. native time. Cory then took off from the Tupelo Regional Airport in a Beechcraft King Air C90. According to CNN, the airplane he stole was reportedly totally fueled the evening earlier than, nevertheless it’s unclear if Cory did the refueling.
Man Threatens To Crash Into Local Walmart At About 5:30 A.M.
Shortly earlier than 5:30 a.m. native time, Cory known as 911 in Lee County. While chatting with authorities, he threatened to crash the airplane into the West Main Walmart situated in Tupelo. Chief Quaka mentioned the Walmart, surrounding shops, and main streets had been evacuated whereas the airplane was nonetheless within the air.
According to CBS, Cory has minimal expertise with airplanes, together with some flight instruction. However, he doesn’t have a pilot’s license or expertise with touchdown plans.
Tupelo Police negotiators satisfied Cory to desert his plan of crashing into the chain retailer. With the assistance of a licensed pilot, police and Cory made a plan for him to land the plane at Tupelo Airport. But, Cory modified the settlement on the final minute. Instead, he started touring northwest.
The airplane was within the sky for greater than 5 hours, per CBS. Within that point, Cory posted a message on Facebook basically saying goodbye. Police mentioned he was working low on gasoline by about 9:30 a.m. native time. About half-hour later, Cory landed the airplane in a discipline a number of miles from Ripley, Mississippi.
Cory Faces Charges For Stolen Plane—No Injuries Reported
Authorities took Cory into custody shortly after the touchdown. He’s dealing with expenses of grand larceny and making terroristic threats. The airplane sustained minimal damages, regardless of witness stories that it landed “hard.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. No one, together with Cory, was injured throughout immediately’s occasions.
The airplane over North MS is down. Thankful the scenario has been resolved and that nobody was injured. Thank you most of all to native, state, and federal regulation enforcement who managed this case with excessive professionalism.
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) September 3, 2022
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