FAA: Stolen Cessna from Canada tracked toward Iowa
Posted: 08:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A small Cessna 172 aircraft reported stolen from a Canadian flight school and flown into U.S. airspace has been intercepted by U.S. military aircraft, authorities said Monday afternoon.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown confirmed the plane was reportedly stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Canada, and — after it had been aloft for nearly three and a half hours — was headed in the direction of Iowa.
Brown said the pilot of the aircraft, identified as a student at the flight school, was not communicating with air traffic controllers. The pilot was conscious and showed no sign of hostile intent, Brown said, and authorities planned to continue tracking the plane.
A U.S. defense official told CNN that two U.S. Air Force F-16 jets were dispatched after Canadian authorities requested that U.S. aircraft tail the plane in U.S. airspace. The official would not say which base the F-16 jets came from.
Brown said there was only one person on the plane, which left the Canadian flight school about 3 p.m. ET, and the pilot had made several changes in direction.
Source
Posted: 08:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A small Cessna 172 aircraft reported stolen from a Canadian flight school and flown into U.S. airspace has been intercepted by U.S. military aircraft, authorities said Monday afternoon.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown confirmed the plane was reportedly stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Canada, and — after it had been aloft for nearly three and a half hours — was headed in the direction of Iowa.
Brown said the pilot of the aircraft, identified as a student at the flight school, was not communicating with air traffic controllers. The pilot was conscious and showed no sign of hostile intent, Brown said, and authorities planned to continue tracking the plane.
A U.S. defense official told CNN that two U.S. Air Force F-16 jets were dispatched after Canadian authorities requested that U.S. aircraft tail the plane in U.S. airspace. The official would not say which base the F-16 jets came from.
Brown said there was only one person on the plane, which left the Canadian flight school about 3 p.m. ET, and the pilot had made several changes in direction.
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