Tupelo

[Brandt]

Bad situation unfolding with a pilot threatening to crash a KingAir in MS.  https://www.wtva.com/news/tupelo-pd-issues-statement-about-plane-crash-threat/article_050bc240-2b82-11ed-9168-07ee994a2459.html

But an interesting related note.  I looked up the flight on RadarBox, Planefinder and FlightAware.  RadarBox has apparently blocked the tracking of the flight.  Planefinder show it going in a straight line, and Flightaware appears to show the actual track.  Good to know if you use any of them to track your own flights.  I have previously found RadarBox to miss things, but the Planefinder straight track is concerning.  

[N201MKTurbo]

42 minutes ago, Brandt said:

Bad situation unfolding with a pilot threatening to crash a KingAir in MS.  https://www.wtva.com/news/tupelo-pd-issues-statement-about-plane-crash-threat/article_050bc240-2b82-11ed-9168-07ee994a2459.html

But an interesting related note.  I looked up the flight on RadarBox, Planefinder and FlightAware.  RadarBox has apparently blocked the tracking of the flight.  Planefinder show it going in a straight line, and Flightaware appears to show the actual track.  Good to know if you use any of them to track your own flights.  I have previously found RadarBox to miss things, but the Planefinder straight track is concerning.  

What's the N number?

 

It is N342ER

[N201MKTurbo]

I hope they have evacuated the Wall Mart by now. 

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/nation-world/tupelo-airplane/507-e1525b4e-de90-4f97-9f8d-40e87ba576f6

Looks like they did.

[N201MKTurbo]

It looks like he crashed into the woods next to a cemetery.

His last flight datapoint showed a 500 ft/min descent at 900 ft.

[81X]

What an odd/erratic flight path. 

My wife asked me: is a mental health evaluation a part of your medical?  Interesting question. To be fair, it’s TBD if this person was a licensed and current pilot. 

 

[Brandt]

21 minutes ago, 81X said:

What an odd/erratic flight path. 

My wife asked me: is a mental health evaluation a part of your medical?  Interesting question. To be fair, it’s TBD if this person was a licensed and current pilot. 

 

Apparently an FBO employee based upon current reports. 

 

[Brandt]

https://apnews.com/article/tupelo-mississippi-plane-pilot-threatens-to-crash-0fa4f27949ea5a547de2c2989ac366c6

 

Says he landed. 

[Brandt]

41 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

It looks like he crashed into the woods next to a cemetery.

His last flight datapoint showed a 500 ft/min descent at 900 ft.

This goes back to my original point.  Flight trackers don’t show an airport landing and show flight origination at 7:45, not the 5 am reported in the APP article.  Suggests some real issues with flight trackers.

[Brandt]

5 minutes ago, Brandt said:

This goes back to my original point.  Flight trackers don’t show an airport landing and show flight origination at 7:45, not the 5 am reported in the APP article.  Suggests some real issues with flight trackers.

https://www.wtva.com/news/tupelo-pd-issues-statement-about-plane-crash-threat/article_050bc240-2b82-11ed-9168-07ee994a2459.html

 

Landed in a field

[0TreeLemur]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

N342ER

That's just nuts.   Landed in a field and in custody.   Probably ran out of go-juice.

[GeeBee]

It is nuts but not unusual. When I worked at RHV we had a student, who arrived at the flight school drunk, grabbed the keys to a Duchess and took off. I called the tower, had TRACON tag him. I took off in an Aerostar 601P and with the help of OAK Center caught up with him near Tracy. I managed to get him turned and he returned to RHV. The kicker? He was a San Jose Police officer! It really P'O'd me when the SJC PD just gave him a ride home rather than book him. He was later charged.

[Will.iam]

Ah crap. I hope This idiot and the one in Seattle those both in resent years have received high publicity don’t  turn GA into a security nightmare like terminals have become for airlines. 

[Hank]

1 hour ago, Will.iam said:

Ah crap. I hope This idiot and the one in Seattle those both in resent years have received high publicity don’t  turn GA into a security nightmare like terminals have become for airlines. 

Both were FBO employees, with full access to everything (more than us pilots have). Security would not have done anything.

[Will.iam]

2 hours ago, Hank said:

Both were FBO employees, with full access to everything (more than us pilots have). Security would not have done anything.

I know that and you know that but here we are still randomly screening pilots through terminals for the illusion  of public safety. It’s like why would a pilot need a gun or a bomb? He already has access to the flight deck and flight controls. 

[201Steve]

8 hours ago, Will.iam said:

Ah crap. I hope This idiot and the one in Seattle those both in resent years have received high publicity don’t  turn GA into a security nightmare like terminals have become for airlines. 

I had a TSA trainee come through my hangar one time. No idea why he was there, not a commercial airport. He came up to me and my coworker and asked us what we would do if we saw somebody jumping the fence into the airport. I told him I would ask him why he doesn’t just use the door.  

[N201MKTurbo]

5 minutes ago, 201Steve said:

I had a TSA trainee come through my hangar one time. No idea why he was there, not a commercial airport. He came up to me and my coworker and asked us what we would do if we saw somebody jumping the fence into the airport. I told him I would ask him why he doesn’t just use the door.  

After 9-11 all the airports got fences and gates. At the home drome, we had a series of burglaries and wanted a night watchman. There was no money for that, but millions for fences and gates. 
 

After the fences and gates were installed we still has a series of vehicle thefts, including my truck. The fences actually made it easier for this kind of thing. The thieves could hop the fence at night and work virtually unmolested. The fence limited the number of places they had to guard to see if anyone was coming. The gates let anyone drive out, so they could hop the fence, spend half the night hot wiring the vehicle and then drive out like they owned the place. 
 

The cops told me where my truck would show up and they were right. Not saying where out of political correctness. 

 

[Red Leader]

34 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

After 9-11 all the airports got fences and gates.

Not true. I was at an airport a couple of months ago near Atlanta that had no fences or gates (at least on the east side) and a straight road in from the interstate.

[N201MKTurbo]

1 minute ago, Red Leader said:

Not true. I was at an airport a couple of months ago near Atlanta that had no fences or gates (at least on the east side) and a straight road in from the interstate.

Was it a public airport that accepted airport improvement money?
 

[Red Leader]

18 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Was it a public airport that accepted airport improvement money?
 

KCCO

[GeeBee]

We have Constitutional carry in GA. We don't need no stinking fences.

[N201MKTurbo]

Wow, trying to figure which airports are required to have perimeter fencing leads you down a confusing rat hole. The best I’ve found out so far is that only class IV airports don’t require fences. This would limit commercial operations to non-scheduled flights of less than 9 passengers.

FWIW, I looked at KCCOs financial statements and it looks like the only federal grants they have accepted are American Rescue Plan (COVID) money.

 

[GeeBee]

In the South we have perimeter fences mostly to keep wild life (mostly deer) off the runway.

KFFC, not too far from KCCO had several aircraft damaged by deer on the runway. The airport authority was going to bring in USDA hunters to kill the deer (because deer hunting is prohibited in the City limits which why they have so many deer) but the house Frau's in Peachtree City screamed about killing Bambi so up went the fence with Federal funds help. Once you have a fence, well then TSA gets involved...not that they care about deer.

[Fly Boomer]

23 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

In the South we have perimeter fences mostly to keep wild life (mostly deer) off the runway.

You're not alone.  At my airport, the secret code to open the gate is "push the button".  I asked how that provides any level of security.  They said most deer can't push the button, and the fence is too high for most deer to jump.

[Shadrach]

On 9/4/2022 at 12:32 PM, Hank said:

Both were FBO employees, with full access to everything (more than us pilots have). Security would not have done anything.

Doing something or at least doing something useful has never been a criteria for the legislature.

[Hank]

18 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

Doing something or at least doing something useful has never been a criteria for the legislature.

Tru dat. But we can always hope!