California man's plane keeps getting stolen, flown, fixed and returned, no leads in sight
Vintage Cessna Vanishes From Southern California Hangar
On July 27, Hong arrived at his hangar at Corona Municipal Airport in Southern California, only to find his 1958 Cessna Skyhawk missing, as per an Independent report.
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He shared that, "I got confused," adding, "I thought, 'did I park it somewhere else, did the airport manager move it?' But I looked all over," as quoted in the report.
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He hadn't flown the plane recently, he doesn't much anymore, but now it wasn't where he left it and no one knew why or who stole it, according to the Independent report.
After asking around, Hong learned someone had been flying his plane across Southern California, that too, not once, but at least twice, as per the report.
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The Missing Plane Reappears with Trash Left Behind
He reported it missing and waited. Then came a call from the La Verne Police Department as the plane had been found at
Brackett Field Airport
, about 25 miles northeast of Corona Municipal Airport, as reported by the Independent.
When he got there, Hong found his aircraft intact, no real damage, just garbage and cigarette butts left in the cockpit, as per the report.
Battery Removed to Stop the Joyrider, But It Didn't Work
He pulled out the battery to prevent any further joyrides for the theif, and then he made plans to return the following weekend to clean it up and check it over if whoever snatched his plane had not damaged the aircraft, according to the Independent report.
But when he returned on August 3 to the airport to start working on his plane, the plane was gone missing again, as per the report.
After he reported about his missing plane, this time, the El Monte Police Department called because the plane had been found at San Gabriel Valley Airport, 18 miles from west of Brackett Field Airport, according to the Independent report.
When he went to the airport to find his plane, he saw that whoever took it had installed a new battery, as per the report.
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Police Say Plane Theft is Extremely Rare
Sergeant Robert Montanez of the Corona Police Department pointed out that the whole situation is unusual, saying that the plane "keeps disappearing out of the blue," as quoted by the Independent.
Since people don't usually steal planes and is so rare that the Corona Police Department had to give Hong paperwork meant for stolen cars to make his report about his missing jet, as per the report.
No Surveillance, No Suspects, No Leads
Montanez said that unfortunately for police and Hong, there's no surveillance video available that captured images of the theif pilot, and "no real leads," as quoted by the Independent.
According to the report, Hong used Flight Aware to track recent flights and saw that the plane flew twice on his birthday, including one flight that left at 1:30 am, according to the report.
Whoever's Flying It, Knows What They're Doing
Hong assumed based on the number of flights and the times at which the pilot was traveling that whoever is flying his plane has flight training, as "landing is not easy," as quoted by the Independent.
The mystery pilot reportedly also knows how to maintain a plane as Hong pointed out that in order to change the battery, the pilot would have to have both the tools and the knowledge needed to complete the job, according to the report.
He also estimated that along with a new battery, the tools needed to do the repair, and a new headset he found inside the cockpit, theif would have mostly spent hundreds of dollars just to keep his old Cessna in the sky, as reported by the Independent.
The 75 year old said, "Someone breaks into your house, they're looking for jewelry or cash right?" adding, "But in this case, what's the purpose? It's like someone breaks my window, and then they put a new one up," as quoted in the report.
Plane Now Chained and Grounded, But the Mystery Remains
However, Hong has now chained his airplane at the San Gabriel Valley Airport and will not be flying it until he can get an inspection done on the plane and even though, for now, his plane is likely secured, but Hong is no closer to learning who keeps taking his plane and why, as reported by The Independent.
FAQs
Where was the plane originally kept?
At Corona Municipal Airport in Southern California.
How many times has it been stolen?
At least twice and flown without Hong's permission each time.
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