STOLEN PLANE FROM THUNDER BAY LANDS ON MISSOURI HIGHWAY

AH! [u]Now[/u] it is clearer! The pilot didn't get a ride to Simmons, MO (which has a highway "FF" nearby.) He got a ride to "Simmons Grocery and Hardware", which is in Ellsinore, MO. Per CNN:

"He just came in, got a Gatorade, tried to get a beef jerky, didn't have enough money, went over and sat down and just kind of watched people come and go," said Tammy Bailey of Simmons Grocery & Hardware in Ellsinore in southern Missouri.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/07/stolen.plane.pilot/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

I’ll try that link again:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/07/stolen.plane.pilot/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Messed up my html, too. :-(

AH! Now it is clearer! The pilot didn't get a ride to Simmons, MO (which has a highway "FF" nearby.) He got a ride to "Simmons Grocery and Hardware", which is in Ellsinore, MO. Per CNN:

"He just came in, got a Gatorade, tried to get a beef jerky, didn't have enough money, went over and sat down and just kind of watched people come and go," said Tammy Bailey of Simmons Grocery & Hardware in Ellsinore in southern Missouri.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/07/stolen.plane.pilot/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Well, I still can't get a link after other html to work. Back to the html playground for me, when I get some more time. Lunchtime's over!!

Ford Field was packed last night. Would have been a better target.

Also dry a run a for U of M game, 106,000+ in one place.

I could be they know we won’t shot it down very sad times we live in

UPDATE:

Note: Photo included.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512837,00.html

“Man Accused of Stealing Plane in F-16 Chase Charged”
Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Butler County Sheriff’s Office

SNIPPET: “A depressed Turkish man accused of stealing a plane in Canada and leading fighter jets on a chase across three American states was charged with transportation of stolen property and illegal entry on Tuesday.

According to the federal complaint, Leon said he flew the plane into the U.S. expecting to be shot down by military aircraft. The complaint says Leon told authorities he recently was being treated by a psychiatrist.”

The official story is that he was receiving mental health care, and was trying to commit suicide by F-16.

Thanks for the ping, Cindy.

I’m glad no one was hurt.

You’re welcome fanfan.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53822

Air Guard Fighters Intercept Suspicious Aircraft

By Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum
Special to American Forces Press Service

ARLINGTON, Va., April 7, 2009 – Air National Guard fighter aircraft from two states intercepted a suspicious aircraft as it flew into U.S. airspace yesterday afternoon.
North American Aerospace Defense Command directed F-16C aircraft assigned to the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minn., to initially intercept the Cessna 172 single-engine aircraft near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, before handing off the mission to F-16s assigned to the 115th FW of Madison, Wis.

Pilots attempted to notify the pilot to establish communications with local Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and land safety for further follow-on action, according to a Wisconsin National Guard news release.

The Cessna pilot acknowledged the fighters, but was unresponsive to specific nonverbal commands, according to a NORAD press release.

Mike Kucharek, a NORAD spokesman, said the Cessna was reported as stolen from an aviation school in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and departed without Navigation Canada authority.

The pilot was flying erratically and did not communicate with fighter pilots, the spokesman told national news agencies.

The Wisconsin fighters were about to hand the mission over to aircraft from the 159th FW of the Louisiana Air National Guard when the Cessna ran out of gas over southern Missouri. U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft intercepted the Cessna as well, but the F-16s followed the aircraft until it landed in an area 23 miles northwest of Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 9:45 p.m. EDT. The aircraft landed on Highway 60 near Ellsinore, Mo., and was apprehended by local authorities.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Dunbar, the adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard and the homeland security advisor to the state, ordered the evacuation of the Capitol building in Madison as a precautionary measure, according to a state-issued press release. At 5:45 p.m., the evacuation was terminated based on the aircraft’s proximity to the building.

(Army Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Related Sites:
National Guard Bureau
North American Aerospace Defense Command

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.norad.mil/News/2009/040609_a.html

NORAD fighters respond to airspace violation

April 06, 2009

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. —Two F-16 fighters under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted a small Cessna aircraft near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Wisconsin border today at approximately 4:43 p.m. EDT.

F-16 aircraft from the Minnesota Air National Guard initially scrambled out of Duluth, Minn., were replaced by fighters from the Wisconsin Air National Guard based out of Madison, Wisc., who then handed off the pursuit to the Louisiana Air National Guard fighters from New Orleans.

The civilian aircraft departed Thunder Bay, Ontario without Navigation Canada authority and was reported as stolen. It entered United States airspace from the north and was headed south over Lake Superior at approximately 4:23 p.m. EDT. After intercept, the pilot acknowledged the fighters but was unresponsive to specific non-verbal commands. U.S. Customs Border Protection aircraft intercepted the Cessna as well, but the F-16s followed the aircraft until it landed in an area 23 miles northwest of Poplar Bluff, Mo., at 9:45 p.m. EDT.

The intent of military intercepts is to have the identified aircraft re-establish communications with local FAA air traffic controllers and instruct the pilot to follow air traffic controllers to land safely for further follow-on action.

NORAD’s mission – in close collaboration with homeland defense, security, and law enforcement partners – is to prevent air attacks against North America, safeguard the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating within these airspaces, and provide aerospace and maritime warning for North America. NORAD may be required to monitor, shadow, divert from flight path, direct to land and/or destroy platforms deemed a potential threat to North America.

NORAD is the bi-national Canadian and American command that is responsible for the air defense of North America and maritime warning. The command has three subordinate regional headquarters: the Alaskan NORAD Region at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; the Canadian NORAD Region at Winnepeg, Manitoba; and the Continental NORAD Region at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. The command is poised both tactically and strategically in our nation’s capital to provide a multilayered defense to detect, deter and prevent potential threats flying over the airspace of the United States and Canada.

-30-

Ah the old I was receiving mental health care, and was trying to commit suicide by F-16. trick. said in my best Maxwell Smart voice

The potential scenarios are numerous. What passes for leadership in this country 1. Refuses to believe the Al Queda crowd when it says it will convert, enslave or kill all infidels; 2. Does not have the mental or moral courage to defend the country; 3. Fervantly wishes he US is reduced to impotence.

November 3, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://stlouis.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/sl110309.htm

Canadian Man Sentenced on Charges of Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Plane

ST. LOUIS, MO—Adam Dylan Leon was sentenced to 24 months in prison on federal charges of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, importation of a stolen aircraft, and illegal entry, for flying a stolen Cessna 172 aircraft into the United States from Canada, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced today.

According to the facts filed with the court: Prior to April 6, 2009, Leon was a joint Turkish-Canadian citizen residing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. He had been taking aviation classes at Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology in Thunder Bay. On April 6, 2009, Leon stole a Cessna 172 training aircraft from Confederation College, took off without authorization, and piloted the aircraft southward across the border of the United States. He did not obtain approval from air traffic control and did not respond to radio contact. Due to the unknown nature of the flight and Leon’s lack of radio communication, appropriate authorities were notified of the plane’s location and direction of travel. American and Canadian authorities coordinated a prompt response to ensure the public safety. United States Department of Defense and Customs and Border Patrol aircraft intercepted the Cessna 172 after it entered United States airspace, and closely tracked its progress.

Attempts to communicate with Leon were unsuccessful. After flying the plane southward through United States airspace for several hours, Leon landed the plane on a road off of Highway 60 near Ellsinore, MO. He was arrested shortly after by the Missouri Highway Patrol at a local grocery store in Ellsinore.

“Illegally entering the United States in a stolen plane is tantamount to a breach of our nation’s borders,” said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago. “We work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify border security threats and investigate those who violate U.S. immigration and customs laws.”

“This turned out not to be a terrorist act and fortunately no one got hurt,” said Roland J. Corvington, special agent in charge of the FBI in St. Louis. “But today’s sentencing shows how the FBI and its partners take national security seriously by dedicating unlimited hours and resources needed to resolve what was a threat at the time.”

Adam Dylan Leon, a.k.a. Yavuz Berke, 31, of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty in August to one felony count of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, one felony count of importation of a stolen aircraft, and one count of illegal entry into the United States. He appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Charles A. Shaw, in St. Louis, MO.

Reap commended the work on the case by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Thunder Bay Police of Ontario, Canada, and Assistant United States Attorney D. John Sauer, who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Thanks for the ping, Cindy.

Update at #156.

If this A/C showed itself on a course towards a large gathering of people, or towards a potential target , you can bet your bippy that it would have been shot down.

We just do not have haired trigger fingers like some banana republics do, that is "YET" anyway.

The next one, if it comes , will be shot down by the Canadians.