Theft Was For Drunken Joy Ride

Authorities have arrested a man accused of stealing and crashing a single-engine plane in Brazoria County (TX). You may recall ANN's coverage on Tuesday, which described the attempted theft of a Cessna 172. The wrecked airplane was found, but the thief was long gone. On Wednesday, however, authorities caught their man.

Louis Paul Kadlecek, 21, faces felony theft and criminal mischief charges. He was being held yesterday at the Brazoria County Jail. He allegedly stole and crashed the plane on Sunday. Authorities said Kadlecek had been drinking since his birthday the previous Wednesday and decided to take the Skyhawk for a joy ride. He must have forgotten the "eight hours -- bottle to throttle" rule. On the other hand, Kadlecek probably didn't even know about the policy, as he's not a certificated pilot. Authorities said that Kadlecek had never been in an airplane and didn't know how to fly. Instead he struck some power lines 100 feet above the ground and crashed the plane into the field, just south of the airport.

Using pilot's manuals, the unemployed tree cutter managed to taxi two planes around the airport before flying off in one early Sunday, authorities said. He didn't get very far before wrecking the aircraft, cutting off electricity to much of Clute and Lake Jackson. Kadlecek walked away unhurt -- and unidentified. But on Tuesday he was arrested, charged with theft and booked into the local jail.

Brazoria County Chief Deputy Sheriff Charles Wagner said Kadlecek knew the airport layout because he had performed community service there after one of his previous arrests. Police said he managed to get one plane out of the hangar, start the engine and taxi around the airport before bringing it back, saying the plane was too complicated. He then took the Cessna 172 from another hangar, loaded it with about 24 cans of stolen beer and started taxiing around.

"The pilot's manual was out on the seat beside him," Wagner said. Once on the runway, Kadlecek told investigators, he decided "to go for it" and revved up the engine. When he thought it was going fast enough, he pulled back on the yoke and the plane took off. Wagner said he asked him where he was going and Kadlecek said, "I don't know, Mexico, maybe." Kadlecek told police he peered through the early morning fog and saw a set of high-tension power lines looming. The propeller chewed through the lowest wire, carrying more than 100,000 volts of electricity.

"He said he saw a bright flash of light," Wagner said. Then Kadlecek said "Oh!" followed by an expletive. The plane fell 100 feet into a heap in a muddy pasture of the Wayne Scott Prison Unit. Several people saw the crash, Wagner said. One called 911 and, sure that the pilot was dead, drove off to a golf game. Others saw a man get out of the plane, walk 300 yards to Texas highway 288 and cross it. Kadlecek told investigators he walked about three miles to his home. From witness accounts, investigators were able to draw a composite sketch of the suspect. When the sketch hit newspapers, the sheriff's office started getting leads.

Kadlecek was one of them. When county investigator Richard Foreman contacted Kadlecek and asked him to come to the sheriff's office to be in a lineup Tuesday morning, he agreed but said he didn't have a ride to get there. Foreman went to pick up Kadlecek at his home just south of Angleton and noticed that he had his toothbrush. "I've been around long enough to know that he was expecting to be in jail," Foreman said. He said he asked Kadlecek if he had anything to tell him and he hung his head and said, "I did it."

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