Plane Theft Spree Hits Fullerton

Bandits apparently descending from the sky have stolen four aircraft from Fullerton Municipal Airport since April, baffling investigators and making the city the plane-theft capital of the nation.

The thefts represent a fourth of all aircraft stolen across the country in 1999, according to federal officials. Authorities have no idea why Fullerton has been targeted but believe the spree may represent a new category of crime designed to bolster the ranks of drug-smuggling flight crews.

“I think people are flying in, stealing these airplanes and flying out again,” said Rod Propst, the airport manager, adding that strengthened security measures like raising the fence probably won’t stop the thieves.

All of the pilfered planes are small, single-engine Cessnas with limited flight range and less cargo space than the faster and larger aircraft normally favored by drug smugglers. So far, none of the aircraft have been recovered, and authorities have no suspects. The aircraft have a combined value of about $200,000.

The situation has gotten so bad that a leading aviation security company now warns plane owners about the Fullerton thefts prominently on its Web site.

The crime wave is all the more surprising considering that plane thefts nationally are at their lowest level in nearly 20 years. There were 26 plane robberies in 1996, compared to 241 in 1980.

Experts attribute the drop to improved radar tracking as well as a change by drug smugglers from air to land routes. But demand for stolen planes still exists, and Southern California airports remain a favored target, officials said.

Thousands of planes line runways at the region’s general-aviation airports, all just a short flight from Mexico. Of the 16 airplanes stolen this year, at least eight were taken from Southland runways, according to federal officials.

“Southern California is not exactly the safest place to store an airplane,” said Bob Collins, president of the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute, a nonprofit insurance industry-advisory group.

Fullerton police declined to release details of their investigation. Others, however, said the planes may have been stolen by Latin American drug cartels for use in training pilots. The planes make ideal training craft, experts say. By flying the smaller planes, novice pilots can quickly learn to operate the more complex aircraft used to smuggle drugs.

Some experts believe thieves focus on a small airport until the crimes attract attention. Then they move to another airfield.

At an airport in La Verne, four aircraft disappeared over an 18-month period in 1997 and 1998, prompting officials to install more sophisticated gate mechanisms and increase patrols. No thefts have been reported since.

Other area airports, including Long Beach and Torrance, have reported thefts, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. But none approach the six-month crime spree at Fullerton Airport, which houses 350 airplanes and handles 100,000 landings and departures per year.

This is not the first time Fullerton has been hit. In 1997, three Cessnas disappeared in a string of thefts that ended after police arrested a 44-year-old Redondo Beach pilot suspected of flying the planes to Mexico.

Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Jerry Schaffer said one of the stolen planes was found at an airfield in Mexico, badly damaged after an apparent crash landing. The pilot charged, Carlos Courtois, is serving nearly three years in state prison after being convicted of one airplane theft and possession of stolen property.

The most recent string of thefts at Fullerton began in April, when a Cessna four-seater disappeared from the south side of the runway. It was parked within sight of the tower, the pilot’s lounge and the restaurant, just like the three planes stolen later.

Officials suspect the crimes occurred at night when the tower and restaurant were closed. But they admit that a thief brazen enough can fly off with a plane during daylight hours.

Propst suspects the thief or thieves are familiar with airport operations, because all the stolen aircraft were in good condition and flown regularly. “The only way to verify which ones fly a lot is to watch,” he said.

Officials said it’s possible to land and take off from the airport without drawing attention. So they suspect the thieves are dropped off by plane.

Lately, crews have raised fences and installed lighting at the airport as part of bolstered security measures. Guards may also be hired to patrol at night, Propst said.

Aviation security experts say the efforts may deter some crimes but admit that a determined thief can defeat almost any security measures. High-flying bandits, they say, consider stealing an airplane among the simplest of crimes.

Security measures at many, mostly smaller airports are often minimal, with sometimes only a small fence separating the runways from the street. Plane owners, a trusting, clubby sort, often fail to recognize potential trouble, and owners often leave planes unattended for long periods of time armed with only the simplest of locks, experts said.

Even when fitted with elaborate anti-theft systems, the planes are not secure.

Thieves can cut through steel-plated propellers and wheel-locks in seconds with high-speed power tools. Locked doors swing open with one of six keys common to most Cessnas. And a simple hot-wire operation can spark an engine to life.

Officials say a thief can be airborne within 10 minutes of arriving at an airport, and days pass sometimes before an airplane is reported stolen.

“The professional [thieves], they just laugh,” said Ted Gustin, the head of Los Angeles County’s aviation division. “It’s so easy.”

Fullerton Airport pilot David Black believes his Cessna four-seater was stolen at night after a thief quickly cut through the throttle lock. A member of a six-member flight club, the Brea resident said he doesn’t expect to see his $60,000 plane again.

Club members, he said, used the 20-year-old plane regularly for vacation jaunts to Arizona or points beyond. “It’s been all over the country. But who knows where it is now. We have no clue whatsoever,” he said.

Nor do law enforcement officials, who can only speculate.

One scenario places the planes in the hands of Colombian drug cartels who use them to train their own pilots.

Collins, president of the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute, said qualified pilots are in scarce supply in Colombia. The government has stepped up its anti-drug campaign by shooting down planes suspected of smuggling drugs, and few pilots are willing to take the risk.

“Pilots who used to get paid $5,000 a flight now receive up to $100,000 per flight,” he said.

Others say the thieves may be stripping the aircraft at “chop-shop” operations and then selling the parts. Or they could be disassembling the airplanes and shipping them to Asia, where their value more than doubles.

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Plane Bandit’s Target

Four planes have been stolen from the Fullerton Airport since April, making it the country’s plane-theft capital. All were single-engine Cessnas.