"No. That's just what they'd expect us to do."
Crash and burn time.
They should shoot it down.
Lawn dart
And of course they already know it isn’t a terrorist...right?
A friend of mine sent this to me. I guess it was a Canadore College aviation student. That’s what some of our friends up there say anyway. He deserves what he gets.
Bring it down.
"No. That's just what they'd expect us to do."
UNITED STATES / CANADA (BNO NEWS) — A Cessna 172 airplane was reported stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Canada on Monday afternoon, illegally entered U.S. airspace and is now flying over Illinois, FAA and other officials tell BNO News.
The airplane theft was first reported at 2.55 p.m. local time after it took off from Confederation College at Thunder Bay International Airport in Canada, according to Laura Craig who is a spokeswoman for the airport. “Confederation College officials reported the theft immediately and requested the assistance of Thunder Bay Police,” a statement read. “The aircraft was tracked by radar and crossed into U.S. airspace,” she added. Craig also said that the college is cooperating with Thunder Bay Police to recover the airplane and identify the individual flying the airplane.
In the United States, multiple agencies such as the Federal Aviation Authority, NORAD and the U.S. Air Force are closely following the situation. “They believe its one of the students and we’ve been tracking the aircraft since it entered U.S. airspace and we are still tracking it, he is currently over central Wisconsin,” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told BNO News earlier. She later told BNO News that the aircraft had since entered Illinois airspace and is currently flying north of St. Louis, just over the state border. Only one person is believed to be on board. Brown also said that attempts to make contact with the pilot have failed and it is unclear what his intentions are.
Two F-16 fighter jets quickly intercepted the aircraft after it entered U.S. airspace, a spokesman for NORAD confirmed to BNO News. “We believe it is still in the air at this time,” he added.
According to an official at Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, authorities were preparing to force the plane to land at the airport. “They were apparently going to force an airplane to land here but [it was] called off about a quarter to five. Nothing happened here,” he said. Dozens of emergency vehicles were dispatched to the airport but have since left. He did not know the current status of the plane.
Due to the ongoing incident, the Wisconsin Capitol was briefly evacuated. According to the Associated Press, the building was evacuated out of precaution due to the stolen aircraft in the area. People were being ordered to stay at least one block away from the building and police cars with sirens were driving around the Capitol.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security refused to say if the incident could be terrorism related, and referred all inquiries to the FAA. A report from the Associated Press, however, said that there were no indications it might be terrorism related.
Refresh this page for updates on this breaking story.
Stay with bnonews.com and “BreakingNews” on Twitter for the latest up-to-the-minute news updates.
/johnny
It appears to be flying over 14,000 feet. The “pilot” is probably incoherent to what is happening right now due to a lack of oxygen.
Of course, since President Obama is out of the country, I am sure VP Biden is equally incoherent right now and unable to make any decisions other than if he should have it on the rocks or neat.
I wonder if they could tell if the pilot is conscious or not, probably not. I doubt the F16 could flyby that slowly, they needed to put a UH60 helicopter up there for that.
Reporter on CNN said this person is a Naturalized Canadian citizen and is unhappy.
“IN PURSUIT”???
Just how long does it take an F-16 to pursue a civilian single engine plane with a top speed of, what? 170 mph?
Posted lest than 15 minutes ago:
Authorities know pilot’s identity but haven’t release his age or name.
Brown says the plane has been at a fairly constant altitude of about 14,500 feet.
Flying at high altitude without using oxygen can cause a pilot to lose consciousness, and a plane on autopilot can continue flying itself.
http://www.nbc26.com/Global/story.asp?S=10140320
Shoot it down. Seriously. Doesn’t matter why it’s been stolen, doesn’t matter that it’s only a cessna. It’s a rogue aircraft in our airspace.
Did they ask him if he needed directions..... Ahem
“A federal law enforcement official told CNN the pilot is a naturalized Canadian citizen, but declined to give his name or country of origin.”
John Denver (not his real name) should’ve been so lucky (and the rest of us in effect unlucky!)
From the last paragraphs of an updated article:
Kucharek said it costs roughly $50,000 per hour/per jet to scramble F-16s. From the time the plane was initially intercepted over Lake Superior near the Michigan Upper peninsular until it landed on the Missouri highway, it was followed by two F-16s for more than five hours — a likely tab of $500,000.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was flying for a while at 14,500 feet. Over 10,000 feet the air is quite thin and commercial planes would be pressurized, but the Cessna 172 is not. As a result, the pilot could be suffering from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, which can lead to confusion.
The plane later dropped its altitude to 3,700 feet, where there is more oxygen.
Another government official said the plane did not seem to be showing any hostile intent.
“It had opportunities to go into heavily populated areas, and it has not done so,” the official said. “It appears to be veering around. Not going to urban air space.”
Not a terrorist, I don’t think. Maybe some kid who felt a strong need to see his girlfriend?
A pissing hour has just passed, pissant, now what?!