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Economic Times
09-08-2025
- Economic Times
California man's plane keeps getting stolen, flown, fixed and returned, no leads in sight
Jason Hong's 75th birthday took an unexpected turn when his Cessna Skyhawk vanished from its hangar at Corona Municipal Airport. The plane reappeared, trashed, only to be stolen again, baffling authorities. Despite the thief's apparent knowledge and investment in maintaining the aircraft, their motives remain a perplexing mystery, leaving Hong grounded and searching for answers. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Vintage Cessna Vanishes From Southern California Hangar Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Missing Plane Reappears with Trash Left Behind Battery Removed to Stop the Joyrider, But It Didn't Work Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Police Say Plane Theft is Extremely Rare No Surveillance, No Suspects, No Leads Whoever's Flying It, Knows What They're Doing Plane Now Chained and Grounded, But the Mystery Remains FAQs Jason Hong just wanted to visit his old Cessna on his 75th birthday, instead, he walked into a mystery that still hasn't been solved, as per a 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 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 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 asking around, Hong learned someone had been flying his plane across Southern California, that too, not once, but at least twice, as per the READ: Foreign royal family now owns more of London than King Charles, and the numbers are alarming 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 he got there, Hong found his aircraft intact, no real damage, just garbage and cigarette butts left in the cockpit, as per the 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 when he returned on August 3 to the airport to start working on his plane, the plane was gone missing again, as per the 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 he went to the airport to find his plane, he saw that whoever took it had installed a new battery, as per the READ: Biggest copyright case ever certified could cost the AI industry billions - industry warns of financial ruin 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Corona Municipal Airport in Southern least twice and flown without Hong's permission each time.
Los Angeles Times
08-08-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Someone keeps stealing, flying, fixing and returning this man's plane. But why?
While Jason Hong was celebrating his 75th birthday, he suddenly found himself thinking about his 1958 Cessna Skyhawk, a white and red single-engine beauty with colorful stripes that he calls his 'old treasure.' He doesn't fly it much anymore, but given the occasion he resolved to visit his plane as soon as he could to 'say hi,' like a lifelong friend you see around holidays and special occasions. Hong headed to Corona Municipal Airport after church on July 27, but when he got there, the plane was not where he'd left it. Hong was dumbfounded. 'I got confused,' he said. 'I thought, did I park it somewhere else, did the airport manager move it? But I looked all over.' It was gone. Hong was so shocked, he initially didn't know who to reach out to about a missing, stolen plane. He wondered, did someone fly it out of the airport unnoticed? How long had it been missing? The questions piled up. But the mystery only deepened. As Hong would come to find out, the colorful aircraft had been flown across Southern California by an unknown pilot, unnoticed, in a series of joyrides — or joy flights — at least twice before and then simply returned to the airport. Both Hong and police were left scratching their heads. The first time he discovered it missing, Hong reported it to Corona police, unsure that he'd ever see the plane he's owned for nearly 30 years again. After all, he thought, who steals an entire plane? Then on the morning of July 29, he got a call from La Verne Police, telling him his plane was found in Brackett Field Airport. 'There's my airplane, sitting there in the airport,' Hong said, finding cigarette butts and garbage strewn about in the cockpit. He barely took time to process what happened when, frustrated, he decided to pull out the battery from the plane, close it up, and go home. The plane wouldn't start without the battery, he figured, and he could come back the next weekend when he had time to clean and inspect it. Except that, when he returned that Sunday, Aug. 3, the plane had vanished again. Hong reported the plane missing again with La Verne Police, and wondered what was going on. It wasn't long before he got another call. This time, El Monte Police told him his plane was sitting at San Gabriel Valley Airport. When Hong got there to inspect his plane, his confusion only grew. 'I found it with a battery,' he said. It hasn't been just Hong who has found himself befuddled by his disappearing and reappearing plane. 'This plane just keeps disappearing out of the blue,' said Sgt. Robert Montanez of the Corona Police Department. 'It's just weird.' Montanez said when Hong reported his plane missing the first time, he'd last seen the aircraft in May in the small Corona airport. For police, a case of an entire plane being stolen was so rare, that officers used the same form used for stolen cars, to take Hong's report. Officers are also aware that the plane has been taken multiple times, and returned, making the incidents more perplexing. But Montanez said there's no immediate indication as to who the culprit is. 'There's no camera video, there's no real leads as to who stole the plane,' Montanez said. After finding his plane a second time, Hong said he's tried to put details of the thefts together, but the more he learns the more he grows confused about the circumstances. Hong looked up his plane on Flight Aware, a site that tracks flights and aircraft, and found that on his 75th birthday, someone took off with his plane from La Verne airport at 9:54 p.m., for a 51-minute flight that at one point neared Palm Springs. A few hours later, on July 26, the colorfully striped plane was in the air once again, this time for a brief 22-minute flight from Riverside County toward La Verne that started at about 1:30 a.m. It was the next day that Hong would discover it missing. At first, Hong said, he thought it might have been a random incident, but the details of the repeating incidents didn't make sense to him, he said. The multiple flights indicate that, whoever has taken his plane has had some sort of flight training, since they've been able to land the plane on multiple occasions. 'Landing is not easy, so they're trained,' he said. Hong said he's also found a headset in the plane, as well as a new battery to replace the one he removed, meaning this mysterious pilot had spent hundreds of dollars on equipment to get his plane back in the air. The replacement of the battery, Hong said, also suggests its someone familiar with not just flying, but the mechanics of the plane as they seemed to have the tools and know-how about the type of battery needed, and how to install it. Having his airplane stolen has been frustrating, Hong said. But learning that the suspect has also been spending money and equipment to use — and return — the plane has just been confusing. 'Someone breaks into your house, they're looking for jewelry or cash right?' he said, trying to reason with the circumstances. 'But in this case, what's the purpose? It's like someone breaks my window, and then they put a new one up.' The fact that someone has been traveling in it to different airports also puzzles him. The 75-year-old Yorba Linda resident said he's spoken to regular pilots and employees at the San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte, who said that they saw the plane flying in and out of the airport multiple times in July. 'On and off, they flew in and out, in and out, almost an entire month without knowing,' he said. 'This is really a rare situation.' One regular at the airport, Hong said, told him he saw a woman, about 5 feet, 3 inches tall, and in her 40s or 50s, flying and sitting in the plane on multiple occasions. The man told Hong he had a conversation with her at one point, and distinctly remembered her because she was often seen sitting in the cockpit during the day, making people at the airport wonder why she wouldn't just relax in the air-conditioned airport lounge. 'Very strange,' Hong said. For now, Hong has chained his plane in San Gabriel Valley Airport and said he's uncomfortable flying it until he can thoroughly inspect it. Other than that, he's not sure what to do to keep his plane grounded, or to find out who has been secretly flying it out. 'I have no idea what to do,' he said. 'It's the strangest thing.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Southern California woman arrested after car plunges down embankment
A woman wanted for the alleged theft of more than $3,000 worth of retail products in San Bernardino County was arrested after attempting to flee police and crashing her vehicle down a steep embankment, officials announced Tuesday. The Feb. 14 incident unfolded at just after 2:30 a.m. at a 24-hour pharmacy at Foothill Boulevard and Mountain Avenue in Upland. Upland Police Department officers responded to reports of a 'theft in progress,' with a pharmacy employee telling police that the lone female suspect loaded several carts worth of merchandise and when confronted only managed to escape the store with one cart. Witnesses told police that she then tossed the stolen products into a red Kia Soul and fled the area. In a UPD news release posted to social media, officials said responding officers were able to locate traveling southbound in heavy traffic on Mountain Avenue but failed to yield when police attempted to stop her vehicle. With police following her, the woman got on the westbound freeway where she eventually exited at Fairplex Drive and attempted to lose authorities in the hills above Brackett Field Airport in La Verne. 'Rampant' tow truck scam targets Southern California drivers, officials say 'The female then entered an RV park where she misjudged a turn, slid down an embankment into the bushes,' the release detailed. Body-worn camera footage of the incident shows an officer exiting his vehicle with his firearm drawn and approach the crashed car. The suspect was arrested and some $3,145 in merchandise was recovered from her vehicle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
