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http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw112660_20050308.htm
Manchester man charged with taking plane on joyride
March 8, 2005, 8:29 AM
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- A pilot has been charged with entering an unlocked airport hangar at night and taking a plane on a seven-minute joyride from Ann Arbor to Tecumseh.
Thomas Robert Pyle, 25, of Manchester, was charged Monday with breaking and entering, larceny, and unlawfully taking or tampering with an aircraft.
Police first learned of the Feb. 3 aircraft theft the following morning, when an employee of the Tecumseh airport discovered the damaged and abandoned airplane on the runway. The gear on the $300,000 airplane had not been lowered for landing, and the plane sustained about $100,000 worth of damage when its belly hit the runway, Pittsfield Detective Lt. Steve Heller told The Ann Arbor News.
Heller said Pyle and his passenger were lucky they weren't injured in the landing. The passenger is not expected to be charged in the case.
The Federal Aviation Administration also is investigating. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said it was too soon to say whether Pyle could face action on his pilot's license.
If convicted, Pyle could face up to 10 years in prison for the breaking and entering, 10 years for the larceny charge and five years for the aircraft theft charge. A preliminary hearing has been set for March 17.
Manchester man charged with taking plane on joyride
March 8, 2005, 8:29 AM
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- A pilot has been charged with entering an unlocked airport hangar at night and taking a plane on a seven-minute joyride from Ann Arbor to Tecumseh.
Thomas Robert Pyle, 25, of Manchester, was charged Monday with breaking and entering, larceny, and unlawfully taking or tampering with an aircraft.
Police first learned of the Feb. 3 aircraft theft the following morning, when an employee of the Tecumseh airport discovered the damaged and abandoned airplane on the runway. The gear on the $300,000 airplane had not been lowered for landing, and the plane sustained about $100,000 worth of damage when its belly hit the runway, Pittsfield Detective Lt. Steve Heller told The Ann Arbor News.
Heller said Pyle and his passenger were lucky they weren't injured in the landing. The passenger is not expected to be charged in the case.
The Federal Aviation Administration also is investigating. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said it was too soon to say whether Pyle could face action on his pilot's license.
If convicted, Pyle could face up to 10 years in prison for the breaking and entering, 10 years for the larceny charge and five years for the aircraft theft charge. A preliminary hearing has been set for March 17.
