Authorities have confirmed that a pilot, who was allegedly threatening to crash into a Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi, was taken into custody Saturday morning.
“The pilot identified as Cory Wayne Patterson, has been charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats and will also likely face federal charges,” Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka said in a news conference Saturday.
“Negotiators from the Tupelo Police Department made contact with the pilot and were able to convince him to not carry out this deed and to land the airplane at Tupelo airport,” Quaka said. “He was getting close to running out of fuel.”
According to the Tupelo Police Department in a statement, the pilot called 911 at approximately 5 a.m. and threatened to “intentionally crash into Walmart on West Main.”
Hours later, Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Twitter that the plane was safely “down,” and that the situation has been “resolved” without any injuries. Reeves thanked law enforcement agencies “who managed this situation with extreme professionalism.”
Benton County Sheriff Dispatcher Connie Strickland confirmed that the pilot was in law enforcement custody after landing.
Authorities also told the outlet that the plane was most likely stolen and are investigating whether the pilot is an employee of a local airport.
The plan to land at the airport, however, was aborted because Patterson lacked sufficient experience to bring the aircraft down. He eventually landed in a field near Ripley, Miss. Patterson was uninjured.
Quaka said Patterson’s motivation remains unclear and that Tupelo police would work with the FBI to figure it out. Though he had received flight instruction, Quaka said he believed Patterson was not a licensed flight pilot.
After being notified of the danger in the early hours of the day, police evacuated stores on the street and encouraged those in the area to “disperse as much as practical.”
Charles Crowson, director of the Walmart Press Office, said that the store was closed and evacuated. “We’re working closely with local investigators and are referring questions to law enforcement,” he said.
As law enforcement continued communications with the pilot, residents were asked to avoid that area until an all-clear was given. “With the mobility of an airplane of that [Beechcraft King Air C90A] type, the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo,” the local police department warned in their message.
“It is an ongoing investigation. We will learn more later in the day,” Police Chief John Quaka said.
Yeah, let’s have the most incompitent liars figure anything out, The FBI have proven themselve4s to be a agency of deception, lying and without any integrity, yeah I’m sure those ass holes will figure out why this moron wanted to crach his plane.