Drunken Joy Ride Crashes

Man Accused Of Stealing, Crashes Plane, Arrested for
Theft, Was For Drunken Joy Ride

Authorities have
arrested a man accused of stealing and crashing a single-engine
plane in Brazoria County (TX). you may recall ANN's coverage on
Tuesday, which described the attempted theft of a Cessna 172. The
wrecked airplane was found, but the thief was no were to be found.
On Wednesday, however, authorities caught their man.

Louis Paul Kadlecek, 21, faces felony theft and criminal
mischief charges. He was being held yesterday at the Brazoria
County Jail. He allegedly stole and crashed the plane on Sunday.
Authorities said Kadlecek had been drinking since his birthday the
previous Wednesday and decided to take the Skyhawk for a joy ride.
He must have forgotten the "eight hours -- bottle to throttle"
rule. On the other hand, Kadlecek probably didn't even know about
the policy, as he's not a licensed pilot. Authorities said that
Kadlecek had never been in an airplane and didn't know how to fly.
Instead he struck some power lines 100 feet above the ground and
crashed the plane into the field, just south of the airport.

Using pilot's manuals, the unemployed tree cutter managed to
taxi two planes around the airport before flying off in one early
Sunday, authorities said. He didn't get very far before wrecking
the aircraft, cutting off electricity to much of Clute and Lake
Jackson. Kadlecek walked away unhurt -- and unidentified. But on
Tuesday he was arrested, charged with theft and booked into the
local jail.

Brazoria County Chief Deputy Sheriff Charles Wagner said
Kadlecek knew the airport layout because he had performed community
service there after one of his previous arrests. Police said he
managed to get one plane out of the hangar, start the engine and
taxi around the airport before bringing it back, saying the plane
was too complicated. He then took the Cessna 172 from another
hangar, loaded it with about 24 cans of stolen beer and started
taxiing around.

"The pilot's manual was
out on the seat beside him," Wagner said. Once on the runway,
Kadlecek told investigators, he decided "to go for it" and revved
up the engine. When he thought it was going fast enough, he pulled
back on the yoke and the plane took off. Wagner said he asked him
where he was going and Kadlecek said, "I don't know, Mexico,
maybe." Kadlecek told police he peered through the early morning
fog and saw a set of high-tension power lines looming. The
propeller chewed through the lowest wire, carrying more than
100,000 volts of electricity.

"He said he saw a bright flash of light," Wagner said. Then
Kadlecek said "Oh!" followed by an expletive. The plane fell 100
feet into a heap in a muddy pasture of the Wayne Scott Prison Unit.
Several people saw the crash, Wagner said. One called 911 and, sure
that the pilot was dead, drove off to a golf game. Others saw a man
get out of the plane, walk 300 yards to Texas highway 288 and cross
it. Kadlecek told investigators he walked about three miles to his
home. From witness accounts, investigators were able to draw a
composite sketch of the suspect. When the sketch hit newspapers,
the sheriff's office started getting leads.

Kadlecek was one of them. When county investigator Richard
Foreman contacted Kadlecek and asked him to come to the sheriff's
office to be in a lineup Tuesday morning, he agreed but said he
didn't have a ride to get there. Foreman went to pick up Kadlecek
at his home just south of Angleton and noticed that he had his
toothbrush. "I've been around long enough to know that he was
expecting to be in jail," Foreman said. He said he asked Kadlecek
if he had anything to tell him and he hung his head and said, "I
did it."