[Not A Snowbird]

Reminds me of the lance corporal who swiped a jet at El Toro and took it for a late night joy ride around Orange County. At least the Marine landed it properly, more than I can say for this dude...

[Altamira]

"The gear on the $300,000 airplane had not been lowered for the landing, and the plane sustained about $100,000 damage when its belly landed on the runway..."

This happened to a friend of mine, when he traded in his fixed gear aircraft for one with retractable wheels. Ouch.

[dead]

My father was in a bar back in Washington Heights, NYC back in the fifties. Some drunk guy in the bar insisted he was a pilot, but they all just kept scoffing at him, so the guy left furious.

A few hours later, at 3 in the morning, he walked back in the bar and told him he had proof. They went outside and he showed them the plane he had just landed outside the bar on St. Nicholas avenue. He had taken a bus to Teterboro NJ, stole a plane, and landed it on a street in Manhattan, just to prove a point.

He was arrested immediately.

[VRWCisme]

"She said it was too soon to say whether Pyle could face action regarding his pilot's license...The breaking and entering and larceny charges each carry a maximum 10-year prison term, and the aircraft theft charge carries a maximum five-year prison term."

My dad and sister are both pilots. Although neither would steal someone else's plane and neither would fly after drinking, I do know that the prospect of losing their licenses would be just as disturbing to them as prison time! Of course, this guy deserves both.

[Squawk 8888]

(((.)))

[festus]

Pyle huh ? Does he have a nickname yet ? How bout Gomer....

[unixfox]

The airport hangar was unlocked when the plane was stolen, so Pyle was able to walk in and start it up, Heller said.

Just think, terrorists could do the same.

[taildragger]

As a student pilot many years ago my instructor walked me out to the runway to out to show me something.

Gorgeous Twin Comanche (or Bonanza?) sitting on its belly, gear up, props bent.

The Pilot who just bought it decided to get some time in it before his 10 hour check out.

This nullified his insurance and cost him 50 grand out of pocket to fix it in late 1980's early 1990's dollars.

This was not the only time an instructor took me to accident scenes, or showed me accident wreckage to drive a point home.

I am not current at the moment, but I have to think in some way it has made me a better pilot, sobering stuff, no pun intended.

[lmailbvmbipfwedu]

I knew I was in trouble when I heard the prop hit the runway.........

[EGPWS]

Police say a Manchester pilot entered an unlocked airport hangar last month after he had been drinking and took an airplane on a seven-minute joyride to Tecumseh, damaging the plane when he landed it without lowering the wheels.

As the ad for flight lessons states, "learn to fly for $45".

However, learn to land $4500!

[CarryaBigStick]

This story could have had a really bad ending if someone had hit that abandoned airplane on the runway in the dark.

[Doogle]

...too bad he didn't mistakenly land in a lake thinking it was a wide runway.


Doogle

[snapperjk]

The accused pilot, Thomas Robert Pyle,

CORRECTION; Thomas Robert 'Gomer' Pyle

[narby]

I seem to remember a story floating around Luke AFB in the 70's that some enlisted guy had stolen an F-100 some years before. The story was that he'd been shot down after they thought he was threatening to crash it somewhere.

Don't know if it's true.

[SALChamps03]

For you gamers out there, there is a mission in the video game Grand Theft Auto III called "Grand Theft Aero," where you must retrieve a "package" from an airplane after wasting a crew of Columbian drug cartel hoods. This kind of reminded me of that.

[Fruitbat]

The FAA also is investigating, but spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said she could not comment while the investigation is open. She said it was too soon to say whether Pyle could face action regarding his pilot's license.

Why? I see no reason why it shouldn't at least be suspended for a decade.