Fourteen-Year Old Boys Walk Away With Minor Injuries
Two 14-year-old boys in California appear to be the latest
additions to the growing horde of teenagers who think it's really
cool to steal an airplane. The boys were in jail Monday
after stealing a Mooney M20 from Big Bear City Airport (L35) and
taking it for a joyride over Joshua Tree National Park Sunday
night.
The ride ended as a real bummer, however, after the teens
crashed the aircraft in one of the park's valleys. Fortunately, it
was an area of the park not covered by sharp, rocky terrain --
and the two walked away with only minor injuries.
"The area where it landed was at the bottom of the valley where
there's sandy soil," Joe Zarki with Joshua Tree National Park told
Palm Springs television station KESQ. "So, when the plane hit it,
it skidded. There was damage to the propeller and landing gear, of
course. It was lucky it landed in a fairly sandy area, as opposed
to some of the more rocky terrain we have here."
The aircraft was not completely destroyed, Zarki added. The two
boys are now in a Riverside County jail, awaiting charges.
After an auspicious 2005,
this year is already shaping up to be a bad one for general
aviation on the joyriding-teenager front. Already this year
Aero-News has reported on the case of Nathan Wayne Frost, who stole
a Piper Cherokee and buzzed his girlfriend's house the night of
February 1.
Frost -- who had previous pilot training -- was able to fly and
land the airplane without incident, or damage. He recently bargained part of sentence
down by pleading guilty to stealing the plane.
Meanwhile, the staff of Aero-News -- comfortably at peace with
our inner curmudgeons -- find ourselves in the awkward position of
remembering fondly the days when it was cool enough to steal a
car...
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IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: UNK
Make/Model: MO20 Description: M20,
M20A/B/C/D/E/F/G/J/L/R/S, M20K/M (T
Date: 02/26/2006 Time: 0120
Event Type: Incident Highest Injury:
Minor Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: RIVERSIDE State: CA Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
A MOONEY MO20 ACFT, REGISTRATION UNKNOWN, REPORTEDLY WAS
STOLEN AND CRASHED
LANDED IN JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, THE TWO PERSONS ON
BOARD SUSTAINED
MINOR INJURIES AND WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY BY LOCAL
AUTHORITIES,
RIVERSIDE, CA
INJURY DATA Total
Fatal: 0
# Crew: 2 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
2 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat:
0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Departed:
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination:
Flt
Plan:
Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: RIVERSIDE, CA
(WP21)
Entry date: 02/27/2006