A longtime airport worker is in police custody after stealing an airplane early Saturday morning. The person, recognized as Cory Wayne Patterson by police, threatened to crash the plane right into a Mississippi Walmart. Nonetheless, Cory finally landed in a subject—the place authorities arrested him.
In accordance with 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.
However on Saturday, he selected to maneuver exterior his regular work duties. Throughout a information convention, the chief revealed Cory stole the twin-engine aircraft at 5:08 a.m. native time. Cory then took off from the Tupelo Regional Airport in a Beechcraft King Air C90. In accordance with CNN, the airplane he stole was reportedly fully fueled the night time earlier than, but it surely’s unclear if Cory did the refueling.
Man Threatens To Crash Into Native Walmart At About 5:30 A.M.
Shortly earlier than 5:30 a.m. native time, Cory known as 911 in Lee County. Whereas talking to authorities, he threatened to crash the airplane into the West Essential Walmart situated in Tupelo. Chief Quaka mentioned the Walmart, surrounding shops, and main streets have been evacuated whereas the aircraft was nonetheless within the air.
In accordance with CBS, Cory has minimal experience with airplanes, together with some flight instruction. Nonetheless, 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. However, Cory modified the settlement on the final minute. As a substitute, he started touring northwest.
The airplane was within the sky for greater than 5 hours, per CBS. Inside that point, Cory posted a message on Fb primarily 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 aircraft in a subject a number of miles from Ripley, Mississippi.
Cory Faces Costs For Stolen Aircraft—No Accidents Reported
Authorities took Cory into custody shortly after the touchdown. He’s going through fees of grand larceny and making terroristic threats. The airplane sustained minimal damages, regardless of witness stories that it landed “onerous.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. Nobody, together with Cory, was injured throughout at present’s occasions.
The aircraft over North MS is down. Grateful the state of affairs has been resolved and that nobody was injured. Thanks most of all to native, state, and federal legislation enforcement who managed this case with excessive professionalism.
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) September 3, 2022
