The State - News from May 12, 1989

Thieves have stolen steering mechanisms out of at least 21 Beechcraft Bonanzas and Barons at 11 airports from San Jose to Fresno since January in an outbreak of robberies that has surprised experts. Most of the thefts from the parked planes were double yokes, a control panel column with two steering wheels that allows use by both a pilot and a co-pilot. They are sold new for $4,200 to $5,420. Also taken have been single yokes, standard equipment on Beechcrafts. “We’re all scratching our heads why these yokes are being stolen,” Bob Collins, president of the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute in Frederick, Md., said. “I’ve never heard of them being stolen before.” The first in the rash of unusual thefts was in Hanford on Jan. 10. Parked planes were subsequently hit at airports in Palo Alto, San Jose, Salinas, Woodland, Tulare, Visalia, Watsonville, San Luis Obispo, Merced and Fresno.