Man Leaves Tactical Vest And Loaded Rifle Behind After Crashing Stolen Plane Into Lamp Post

I’d learn to fly a plane before trying to steal one. Photo: Lee County Sheriff’s Office

If I was going to try and steal a vehicle, I’d at least make sure I knew how to control it before I made the dastardly attempt. That doesn’t appear to have been a consideration for one Florida man that tried to make off with a light aircraft this week, as they managed to crash the craft into a lamppost before even making it to the runway.

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The plane in question was a Cessna 340A that was in storage at the Page Field Airport in Fort Myers while it underwent maintenance, reports the Miami Herald. While the aircraft was stored on an aviation tie-down ramp, a Florida man reportedly broke in and tried to fly away in the plane.

The plane was reportedly captured on CCTV moving across the tarmac at the airport, before it was driven onto the grass verge. There, its front end connected with the airport’s perimeter fence, while a wing smashed into a lamppost and broke off at the end. After that, there was no way for the thief to get away with the plane, so they ran. As the Miami Herald reports:

When an officer arrived, he found “the aircraft was covered in dew, and the engines were cool to the touch,” the report said.

A pilot’s operating handbook was on one of the plane’s seats, diagonal from where the pilot would sit, the officer said. When he checked the dashboard and controls of the plane, the officer saw someone had turned the engines on and pushed the throttle forward to drive off the tarmac.

After fleeing the stricken plane, the thief was again spotted on CCTV wearing what looked like an tactical vest. This same vest was then found outside the airport’s perimeter, alongside loaded magazines and an assault rifle.

Do plane wings normally look like that? Photo: Lee County Sheriff’s Office

Following the find, a 43-year-old man from Fort Meyers has been arrested by police and now faces charges including armed burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, grand theft over $100,000 and possession of a bulletproof vest while committing certain offenses, according to the Miami Herald.