Stolen Plane, Pipe Bomb Lead to Man’s Arrest

A man stole a single-engine plane from a Preston, Idaho, airport, flew it low enough to snap several power lines and dropped a homemade pipe bomb that did not explode, police said.

Raymond Montgomery was arrested when he landed across the Utah state line, Bannock County Sheriff’s Department Lt. K.G. Fonnesbeck said.

The pipe bomb landed on Interstate 15. No one was injured.

The plane landed safely at a small corporate runway in Utah.

Two F-16s were sent to intercept the plane, but it landed before they arrived, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

Montgomery had some flying experience and prior “alcohol offenses,” Fonnesbeck said.

At times the Champion 7GC flew only about 10 feet above the ground, breaking power lines and causing at least three poles to fall, Fonnesbeck said.