Did something happen at Pinnacle?

[Stealthh21]

I know i'm not perfect, BUT.........Why do people get state abbrev. wrong? Arkansas is "AR" Alaska is "AK." This is the second post on flightinfo about arkansas and it was abbreviated "AK" as well. I was in an FBO the other day and the girl behind the counter asked another about a letter that had "DE" for the address and she asked, "Why is this going to Denver?" uhhhhhh, you mean Delaware? Sorry, I'm bored.

Blue Skies

I should say so.

 

[Stealthh21]

They was doing an investigation, was they?

A brief search of today's threads here on flightinfo would turn up a rather lengthy discussion about who it was, what his family life was like, and even what he did and didn't like about Piedmont Hawthorne at IAD.

what should I search for????

 

[AlphaSierra01]

.....So anyway,
Just heard an update on the news! I knew it wouldn't take long ot get to the bottom especially in today's post 9/11 environment. A guy steals a $10 million jet.....what a tool!

 

[LDavid]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051012/ap_on_re_us/stolen_airplane

 

[sf260pilot]

Just another stunt that will make GA look bad in the media. (general aviation, not Georgia)

 

[FrozenPilot]

If anyone stops by Pinnacle's FBO at ASG, say hi to Myra... you'll know who she is.

 

[LJDRVR]

Do a search and you will find out that you DONT want to work there!

No, do a search and you'll find one or two disgruntled loudmouths who offer up their opinion on what a horrible job they thought it was and therefore everybody else should defer to their judgement.

I don't know much about what it's like to work there, but I can tell you I used to work with their Chief Pilot at another 135 gig. One of the better aviators I've flown with and a nice guy. He's got a low tolerance for folks who can't fly, so bring your instrument skills and some humility.

 

[FN FAL]

I knew it wouldn't take long ot get to the bottom especially in today's post 9/11 environment.

Yea, I hear ya man, it's a veritable age of reasoning!

It's cool that after 9/11 they actually caught this guy before he could steal a corporate jet, fly it into a different state, pick up five pax, fly to another aiport for shts and grins, fly to another airport, catch a flight on a commercial airliner, then fly as a co-pilot the next day on another corporate jet. Post 9/11 environment? Rodger that, try "Post 9/11 embarassment".

Stolen jet details tell a 'bizarre tale'

By KEN SUGIURA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/15/05
Daniel Wolcott's frequent flyer miles are piling up.

The Buford man, who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly stealing a $7 million charter jet and taking friends on a joy ride, apparently did more flying that night than had been thought.

Daniel Wolcott remains in the Gwinnett jail on $175,000 bond on a charge of receiving stolen property.

Law enforcement officials believe Wolcott slipped out of St. Augustine, Fla., around 3 a.m. and flew to Gwinnett's Briscoe Field — alone. Once in Gwinnett, Wolcott reportedly called friends, who met him at the airport.

Wolcott and his five passengers then flew to Winder — about 15 miles from Briscoe — where he executed a touch-and-go landing before heading back to Briscoe Field, officials say.

He remains in the Gwinnett County jail and also faces a grand theft charge in Florida. He also may face federal interstate theft charges.

Said FBI Special Agent Stephen Emmett, "I imagine the FAA would be looking hard at his pilot's license."

Various details emerged Friday of the alleged crime.

St. Augustine airport assistant manager Bryan Cooper said that an airfield Web cam atop a 14-foot column was disabled between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday.

"It was a wireless camera with a magnetic base on it, and it was on a steel column," Cooper said. "Someone shimmied up the column, an approximately 14-foot column, and took the camera."

James Coffey of Lawrenceville, father of Michael Coffey, one of the five passengers, said the group flew for about 30 or 40 minutes, enjoying the luxury accommodations of the Pinnacle Air Jet Charter.

"He was flying the plane and letting the boys enjoy themselves," said the elder Coffey. The fun had its limits. "He wouldn't even let them smoke a cigarette on the plane."

None of the five passengers, the elder Coffey said, had any inkling that they were aboard stolen property. One of the passengers, Nathaniel Baker, 22, of Lawrenceville, insisted Friday that Wolcott flew the plane legally.

"My homeboy chartered this jet," said Baker, who added that it was his first flight. "He chartered us a jet and we flew."

Police believe otherwise.

"It technically was a chartered plane," said Gwinnett police spokesman Darren Moloney. "Just not by Wolcott."

James Coffey said that Wolcott made the decision to cut the trip to Winder short and land the plane back at Briscoe when only 500 pounds of fuel — about 80 gallons — remained. Moloney said the amount of gasoline remaining when it was found Monday was "dangerously low."

Wolcott apparently did not give any indication that there was anything unusual taking place.

"None of the boys seemed to think he was acting strangely," James Coffey said.

Monday and Tuesday, when news of the alleged theft began to spread, the five — all from Lawrenceville — went to the police.

Meanwhile, Wolcott went back to work. St. Johns Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Kelshaw said that Wolcott originally flew down to St. Augustine as a co-pilot on a business flight the previous Thursday. Michael Slingluff, president of Aero Sport , which provides aviation services at the St. Augustine airport, said that Wolcott and the pilot flew for a company called Medical Holdings.

The day after the alleged theft, Wolcott took a commercial flight to Jacksonville, took a cab to nearby St. Augustine, checked out of his hotel and flew back on the Medical Holdings plane, Kelshaw said.

He turned himself in to Gwinnett police Wednesday morning, a day after a warrant for his arrest was issued. He was charged with receiving stolen property, a felony, and five counts of reckless conduct. As of Friday, he was still in jail on $175,000 bond.

That Wolcott's five friends, who were not charged because they did not know it was a stolen plane, apparently walked onto the Briscoe Field tarmac without being stopped, loitered around the aircraft, boarded a plane, took off and
landed with no one knowing represents a security breach that airport manager Matt Smith acknowledged.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's a fortress because it's not," Smith said. "That's something we're trying to address."

Security weaknesses have been identified. "We need to go and identify a source of funding, which is really what it comes down to," he said.

The question remains: What possessed Wolcott to allegedly attempt such a risky venture? From the Gwinnett jail, Wolcott declined an interview request.

"That's the $64,000 question," said St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar. "Why do that? Why take a plane and leave, and then only to come back to same area to fly another plane out? It's kind of a bizarre tale."