Man Steals Plane, Threatens To Crash Into Walmart

A student pilot who stole a plane from a regional airport and who threatened to crash into a Mississippi Walmart store has been taken into custody after crash landing in a field.

Cory Wayne Patterson, 29, of Shannon took the 9-seat aircraft from Tupelo Airport at around 5 am, where he proceeded to fly in circles across Mississippi, the USA over five hours. At one point the man posted a chilling ‘goodbye’ message on social media while still in the air.

Patterson had threatened to intentionally crash the 9-seater Beechcraft King Air 90 plane into a Walmart outlet according to the Tupelo Police Department.

In what appeared to be a final message, Patterson posted on Facebook: ‘Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn’t your fault. Goodbye.’

Initial reports told of Paterson working at the Tupelo Regional Airport, and regularly posting about flying planes across the country.

Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka said the suspect, Cory Wayne Patterson, had been responsible for fueling aircraft.

While Patterson appeared to have had some flight instruction, he was not a licensed pilot, Quaka said at a news conference.

Patterson was in custody and was being charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats, Quaka said, adding that he expected federal charges as well.

It was not immediately known why, shortly after 5 am on Saturday, he took off in the fully fuelled plane.

Mr Patterson called a Lee County 911 dispatcher 15 minutes after taking off to say he planned to crash the plane into a Walmart.

The Tupelo Police Department said the Walmart and a nearby convenience store was evacuated.

“This is more likely a crime of opportunity,” Chief Quaka said.

Police negotiators made contact during the flight and convinced Mr Patterson to land, but he did not know how to.

He was coached by a private pilot into nearly landing at the Tupelo airport but he aborted the attempt at the last minute and resumed the flight, according to authorities.

Chief Quaka said a negotiator re-established contact around 10 am and learned Mr Patterson had landed in a field near Ripley, Mississippi.

“There’s damage but believe it or not, the aircraft is intact,” he said.

Mr Patterson was charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats.

Roxanne Ward was tracking the plane online and watched from afar after he landed on her father-in-law’s property.

“Police coaxed him out. They yelled at him, ‘Arms in the air,'” she said.

Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan said the landing was the “best case scenario” after an anxious morning of watching the plane’s meandering path overhead.

Former managing director at the National Transportation Safety Board, Peter Goelz, said the vulnerability of small airports had worried security experts for years.

“If you’ve got a trained pilot who can get in and grab a business jet, you’ve got a pretty lethal weapon there,” he said.

Director of the Aviation Center at Farmingdale State College in New York, Michael Canders, said the incident was “a wake-up call”.

Mr Canders said the Transportation Security Administration required annual training to prevent a similar scenario.

“It’s dependent on all of those who work at an airport,” he said. “If you see someone you don’t recognise or some unusual activity, you’re supposed to report that.”

Tupelo resident Leslie Criss said many people were watching the plane circle overhead.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in this town,” she said. “It’s a scary way to wake up on a Saturday morning.”

Webscally / Reuters/AP

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