The Other Red Baron Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 https://www.ksat.com/news/pilot-pleads-guilty-to-transporting-marijuana-in-plane Quote
Pritch Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 This happens way way way more than you think. Living in the Emerald Triangle, we hear of this all the time. Back in the 90's when I was in the CAP, our plane was used to fly the coast so Customs could keep track of planes landing at the out of normal sight airports. There used to be a twin that would come into our local airport that Customs would keep track of going coast to coast. Pritch Quote
M016576 Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 1 hour ago, revwatch said: https://www.ksat.com/news/pilot-pleads-guilty-to-transporting-marijuana-in-plane I wonder what made his flight plan "suspicious." Probable cause on the initial interdiction appears to be lacking. Of course, after going around once the Feds are in sight, you've kind of opened the door. But I wonder what sort of tip or system led to this capture in the first place. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the flight plan alone. Quote
Simon Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 Just now, M016576 said: I wonder what made his flight plan "suspicious." Probable cause on the initial interdiction appears to be lacking. Of course, after going around once the Feds are in sight, you've kind of opened the door. But I wonder what sort of tip or system led to this capture in the first place. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the flight plan alone. I'm sure anytime a small plane crosses over a couple of states, then immediately turns around and flys home it raises suspicion. How many GA pilots fly a thousand miles just to re-fuel and fly home again. It's a bit weird. Quote
smwash02 Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 The incident occurred back in March. More details here. His plane hasn't had a IFR plan since 2013 per flightaware. I'm guessing they were tipped off. Quote
XXX Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 I'm thinking he was trying to pay for a panel upgrade. You know what they say about desperate times... 4 Quote
chrisk Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 I heard about this some time ago. I always wondered why he didn't jettison his cargo while airborne. --Maybe he was using to much of what he was carrying. Quote
Mooneymite Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 A friend of mine who was a tron told me his shop discovered an undocumented, hidden transponder installed on an aircraft. He speculated it had been installedd by the DEA. Quote
rbridges Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 3 hours ago, Chupacabra said: I'm thinking he was trying to pay for a panel upgrade. You know what they say about desperate times... He's thinking about the privatization of ATC and user fees. 1 Quote
rbridges Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 2 hours ago, chrisk said: I heard about this some time ago. I always wondered why he didn't jettison his cargo while airborne. --Maybe he was using to much of what he was carrying. no doubt, that stuff would be strewn over 20 miles of deep woods or swamps as soon I knew authorities were on to me. Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 I had a friend who flew for the Customs Service. They would troll around southern Arizona every night in their modified Citations looking for drug runners. He said they never found anybody that they didn't know about ahead of time. He would actually spend more than half of his time doing detective work on the ground. I helped him install one of those transponders once. That was 22 years ago, so I have no idea what goes on now. Quote
steingar Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 (edited) Saw an aircraft in Philadelphia that had been involved in contraband smuggling. Looked pretty sad, too. A pal got hassled by Homeland Security for "suspicious flight". He was flying dogs from California. Don't know why DHS is looking for drug runners, I thought they were supposed to be looking for terrorists. Silly me. Edited June 29, 2017 by steingar Quote
Bravoman Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 My wife and I just flew down to Marathon from Atlanta. When we landed, we were met on the ramp by a couple of DEA agents who wanted to see my pilot certificate and medical. They did not asked to search the plane, and were very nice. They just suggested that it was a routine thing. Initially, I thought it they were FAA guys but they had side arms. I told them that it was a first for me in 30 years of flying, never been ramp checked, etc. One of the agents laughed and said the same for him and proceeded to tell me how much he liked my Mooney and that he flew an F model! Quote
Bennett Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 A friend of mine who was a tron told me his shop discovered an undocumented, hidden transponder installed on an aircraft. He speculated it had been installedd by the DEA. That happened to me - several times! I was flying to and from Grand Turk in the British West Indies, and I was always worried that someone would put drugs into my airplane via an inspection port. I purposely lined up all the fasteners on the inspection plate in the tail cone as I heard that it was the "favored" location to introduce drugs. Sure enough, when I returned to my airplane it was apparent that the plate had been removed, and then placed back. Probing about with a flashlight I found some sort of tracking devise, with an antenna, wired into the rear navigation light. I carefully removed it, placed it on the tarmac, and stomped the hell out of it. This happened again the next time I flew to Grand Turk, and I again removed the tracker, and stomped on it before flying back to the US. On my next flight to Grand Turk I wandered into a couple of bars until I found a guy wearing a white shirt and tie, with short cropped hair. Hardly the usual casual tropical attire. I sat down next to him and asked him point blank if he was DEAi. He wanted to know why, and I told him I was the owner/pilot of a Mooney out at the airport, and I was damn tired of removing his tracker. He, in turn, told me that I was destroying government property. I told him he had no jurisdiction in Grand Turk, and after he and I had some heated argument, I explained to him why I was in Grand Turk, and that he should check with the Turks and Caicos British governor as to why I was an invited guest. After that everything calmed down, and no more trackers (at least none I could find), and I would stop by the bar and buy him a drink each trip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Quote
Joe Zuffoletto Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 A few years ago, shortly after MJ was legalized in Colorado, I briefly put my RV-8 up for sale. A gentleman from Lincoln, NE flew out one Saturday morning to have a look. He stayed for about an hour, then flew back to Lincoln. He called me that night to tell me that he was met by DEA agents when he landed. They suspected that he was making a weed run to Colorado. Pretty scary how closely we're being watched out there. Quote
Mooneymite Posted June 29, 2017 Report Posted June 29, 2017 1 hour ago, Bennett said: That happened to me - several times! Now, that is a great story! I would gladly buy a beer to hear that one in person. 1 Quote
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