A 23-year-old pilot stole a plane from a Dallas-area flight school — then made an ominous call saying he wouldn’t listen to “your instructions” before he crashed and died.
The pilot, identified as Logan Timothy James of Stokesdale, North Carolina, stole the Cessna 172 Skyhawk from the ATP Flight School at Addison Airport about 7 p.m. Wednesday, KTVT reported, citing the Texas Department of Public Safety.
James was allowed to do a touch and go pattern around the airport but after the first landing and take off he made a pathetic call.
“I climbed through the clouds and then came out of everything,” he said, according to audio posted by VasAviation.
“By now you’ll probably realize that I won’t listen to all of your orders and I’m just headed for East Texas.”
James calmly told the air traffic controller that he was going to “unlock” the microphone and pulled the communications circuit breaker.
A pilot has died after stealing a Cessna 172 and crashing it into a field in rural Northeast Texas, authorities said. FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth Authorities identified Logan Timothy James stole the Cessna 172 from the ATP Flight School in Addison on January 25, 2024. FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth
“Career Track 655, Addison Tower, say it again,” the guard asked him but got no response after trying several more times over the next 10 minutes.
James flew east and then north toward the Texas-Oklahoma border, where he crashed in a field nine miles northeast of Telephone, Texas, about 80 miles from where he took off, officials said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
ATP confirmed the crash involved his Cessna 172.
James calmly told the air traffic controller that he was going to “unlock” the microphone and pulled the communications circuit breaker. WFAA
“An ATP student who got a private pilot’s certificate was the only passenger on the plane. The accident occurred in a remote area, and there were no injuries to anyone on the ground,” the school told KTVT, adding that it is cooperating with local and federal authorities.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the pilot’s family, loved ones, friends and colleagues,” he added.
James’ father told the outlet that his son was raised in North Carolina and graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas.
The dead pilot’s father called him “a great son.” WFAA
He was “a great son, with a gentle and loving spirit,” said his father, who was not named.
James studied geospatial information science at UTD, according to his LinkedIn page.
“After I graduate from UTD, I plan to go to flight school and work to get a place to fly for a legacy airline, like Delta, American or FedEx,” he wrote in his profile.
James earned his private pilot’s certificate on Dec. 24, according to the Federal Aviation Administration database.
The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and Addison police are investigating the incident.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
