Thu, Aug 20, 2009
Marcus Schrenker Intentionally Crashed A Plane In The Florida
Panhandle
The Indiana man who bailed out of
a Piper PA46 Malibu and allowed it to crash in an attempt to fake
his own death was sentenced Wednesday to 51 months in a federal
prison, and ordered to pay more than $34,000 in restitution to the
U.S. Coast Guard, as well as $871,000 to Harley Davidson Credit
Corporation, the lien holder on the plane. He had pleaded guilty to
destruction of an aircraft and causing the Coast Guard to respond
when no help was needed.
Schrenker departed from Anderson, Indiana on January 11th,
saying he was traveling to Destin, Florida. He contacted ATC while
flying over Alabama saying his windshield had imploded and he was
bleeding, and didn't think he would make his destination. He
made course corrections to Harpersville, Alabama where he had
stored a motorcycle, set the autopilot, and bailed out of the plane
near Childersberg, Alabama.
Three Coast Guard helicopters and two cutters were dispatched in
an attempt to assist Schrenker, and two F-15's were scrambled to
track the plane. It eventually crashed near the Blackwater River in
East Milton Florida, narrowly missing several homes. They reported
an intact windshield and an open door. When the plane eventually
crashed, investigators found no blood in the cockpit.
Schrenker was traced by parachute cords cut from trees by the
coast guard. He was later arrested in a Florida campground on
outstanding warrants from Indiana.
Piper Malibu File Photo
CNN reports Schrenker is wanted in Indiana on charges of
defrauding investors through three businesses he owned there. He
has been charged with one felony count each of an unlawful act by a
compensated adviser and unlawful transaction by an investment
adviser. Indiana authorities believe he hatched the plot after the
Indiana Secretary Of State's office searched his business and home
December 31st.
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