14 yr old pilot

Belle wrote:

Hi all!
Does anybody out there know the 14 yr old boy or his parents from
Rainsville Ala who managed to get a small plane up into the air last
night? I would really like to interview him or his parents. Please
help if you can.
Thanks for everything.
Linda

I haven't heard about this incident. Tell me more!

Keith Mann

Article published Jun 16, 2005
Alabama boy accused of taking stolen airplane on joy ride

The Associated Press

A 14-year-old boy allegedly found a key inside an unlocked plane and
took the aircraft on a late-night joy ride, buzzing an Alabama town for
nearly 30 minutes as he took off and landed twice.

The youth suffered minor cuts and bruises Wednesday night in his second
landing, which was rough, but authorities still took him to a juvenile
lockup after charging him with theft of a Cessna 152 worth $35,000.

Police said the boy, who wasn't identified because of his age, had no
flying experience. He allegedly took his mother's van from their home
in Rainsville and drove to the airport in Fort Payne, about five miles
away.

Police Chief David Walker said the teen told officers he unhooked the
plane's tie-downs, started the engine and began "driving the plane
around, and the next thing he knew he was in the air."

He said the boy flew for about five minutes before landing on the
runway and taking off again, flying for a longer period over several
areas of town before returning to the airport.

Walker said the plane apparently came in too hard during the boy's
second landing, making him loose control.

"The plane left the runway and the juvenile stated he gave it more
throttle to try to get back in the air and avoid the fence," Walker
said.

The plane cleared the fence, but the engine died and it came down hard
on a road beside the airport. The landing gear collapsed and the
propeller dug into the road.

Walker said officers were notified of the crash around 11:20 p.m. CDT.
Instruments indicated the plane was in the air for 26 minutes in all,
he said.

Mayor Bill Jordan said the airport was secure except for one open gate.

"It's a miracle the boy wasn't killed or someone else wasn't hurt or
killed or that we didn't have significant property damage from the
plane crashing somewhere else," Jordan told the Times-Journal of Fort
Payne. The last thing you think about is a 14-year-old stealing a plane
from the airport."

Authorities said the incident raised questions about homeland security
measures in Fort Payne, a textile town of 13,000 located about 80 miles
northeast of Birmingham. The airport manager acknowledged the issue
hadn't gotten much consideration in the past.

"We've never had a problem before with planes being stolen, so I guess
we have been a little lax in our security," said Larry Noble Cowart,
who owns Valley Aviation, which runs the airport and owns the airplane
that was taken late Wednesday.

Cowart said the boy could have climbed a fence or simply entered
through a gate that typically is left unlocked.

"He could have just walked in. There's no evidence of forced entry. The
plane was tied down with chains, but the planes aren't typically
locked," said Cowart.

The police chief said the boy found the ignition key on a clipboard in
the plane.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Belle,

First, there is no such thing as a "14-year-old pilot". The regs don't
permit it.

Authorities said the incident raised questions about homeland security
measures in Fort Payne,

Well, yeah, I'd expect "the authorities" to say something like that. It's
still BS.


"We've never had a problem before with planes being stolen, so I guess
we have been a little lax in our security," said Larry Noble Cowart,
who owns Valley Aviation, which runs the airport and owns the airplane
that was taken late Wednesday.

That guy, if quoted correctly, is a great help to GA in
post-9/11-panic-mode times - not!

Man, are GA people ever going to get it?

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In article ,
Thomas Borchert wrote:

That guy, if quoted correctly, is a great help to GA in
post-9/11-panic-mode times - not!

Man, are GA people ever going to get it?

the better question is if the security people are ever going
to grasp how little danger GA poses.

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

Bob,

Man, are GA people ever going to get it?

the better question is if the security people are ever going
to grasp how little danger GA poses.


No, that's EXACTLY the wrong question! That question is answered - and
that's EXACTLY what people in GA need to understand, pronto. The answer
is: Never!

The problem is not in the facts (which are undeniably in favor of GA),
it is in politics. Having GA as a scape goat and restricting it to give
the appearance of decisive action against terrorism is excellent
politics. It works with voters, and it works real well. There is hardly
any way around that, short of a massive change of perception of GA in
the public, which I simply don't see happening. Facts don't have
anything to do with it.

AOPA understood that real well after 9/11 and acted very smart with
their airport watch program. This person in Alabama, OTOH, messed up
big-time in that respect.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert wrote:

....
The problem is not in the facts (which are undeniably in favor of GA),
it is in politics.

Agreed. Politics has a way of magnifying minor details into major
national concerns. It's like looking at a fly under a microscope and
concluding that Godzilla will be invading the nation shortly.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 13:35:32 +0200, Thomas Borchert
wrote in
::


AOPA understood that real well after 9/11 and acted very smart with
their airport watch program. This person in Alabama, OTOH, messed up
big-time in that respect.

Right. Leaving the keys in an unlocked aircraft creates an attractive
nuisance that invites unauthorized use, and virtually creates criminal
behavior.

Bob Noel wrote:

the better question is if the security people are ever going
to grasp how little danger GA poses.

True, but the issue is not what is reality, but what the public perceives.
If the general, non-flying public perceives GA to be a danger (incorrectly
reinforced by silly comments made by unthinking FBO owners), they will
pressure their congressmen/woman to push for even more restrictions over
GA.

--
Peter


















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Peter,

but the issue is not what is reality, but what the public perceives.


You done broke the code, Lt.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In article ,
"Peter R." wrote:

the better question is if the security people are ever going
to grasp how little danger GA poses.

True, but the issue is not what is reality, but what the public perceives.
If the general, non-flying public perceives GA to be a danger (incorrectly
reinforced by silly comments made by unthinking FBO owners), they will
pressure their congressmen/woman to push for even more restrictions over
GA.

There are at least two issues. We (GA) cannot survive if we allow the security
folks to misrepresent the dangers of GA. But we also must address the gross
ignorance of the non-flying public. ****ing away resources to address imaginary
security concerns drains resources from addressing actual security problems.

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule