An airport worker stole a small airplane and threatened to crash it into a Walmart on Saturday.
The worker who knew how to take off but not land reportedly circled over unnerved Mississippians for five hours straight before he landed the plane safely in a soybean field.
Upon landing the police reportedly arrested him.
In the recent news conference, the authorities confirmed that no one was injured. They also identified the pilot as 29-year old Cory Wayne Patterson.
Prior to the landing, Patterson reportedly posted a farewell message to his parents and sister on Facebook and said he “never actually wanted to hurt anyone.”
Following the incident, Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan released a statement and called the resolution “the best case scenario.”
NOW – Pilot threatens to crash a hijacked aircraft into a Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi.pic.twitter.com/ITcj757113
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 3, 2022
According to police Chief John Quaka, Patterson had access to the twin-engine Beechcraft King Air C90A after he was employed to fuel planes at the Tupelo Regional Airport.
Reportedly, the airport staff and the authorities were not aware why Patterson, who was also a 10-year Tupelo Aviation employee, took off in the fully fueled plane after 5 a.m.
However, when Patterson called a Lee County 911 dispatcher, he revealed his plan to crash the plane into a Tupelo Walmart.
Following the warning, the officers immediately evacuated people from the Walmart and a nearby convenience store, Quaka said.
“This is more likely a crime of opportunity,” Quaka added and claimed that the airport’s tower is not staffed until 6 a.m.
In the report released by the AP News, it was revealed that “police negotiators were able to make contact during the flight and convince Patterson to land, but he didn’t know how. 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.”
“A negotiator re-established contact around 10 a.m., and learned Patterson had landed in a field and was uninjured. The plane landed near Ripley, Mississippi, about about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Tupelo,” Quaka said, according to AP News.
“There’s damage but believe it or not, the aircraft is intact,” the chief told reporters during the conference.
