Cessna Reported Stolen at Whiteman Airport

A private plane was reported stolen Monday from Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, although it was probably taken last week, police said.

Authorities believe the 1972 Cessna 172M, owned by Lamar Moon of Simi Valley, was stolen between 5 p.m. Wednesday and 3 p.m. Thursday, when another pilot noticed it missing from the airfield, said Lt. Richard Ackerman of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Station.

Moon, 61, said he had not used his pilot’s license for 30 years before buying the plane in 1996. The four-seat, single-engine plane is often used to train new pilots.

Last year, Moon said, he bought a quarter share in a newer plane and had been trying to sell the Cessna, which had a for-sale sign taped to its side window.

“But the Cessna was definitely my baby,” Moon said. “I made it such a pretty little plane, and it gave me the chance to feel free whenever I wanted.”

He estimated the plane, painted white with a red stripe and the identification number N61602 on the side, to be worth about $50,000 because of the small fortune he spent on electronic instruments.

That equipment probably lured the thief, Moon said, noting that more than 600 other planes are parked at Whiteman.

“Nobody goes for joy rides in a 172,” said Homayoun Jandaghi, owner of Allied Services, a Simi Valley airplane parts shop. “That’s like stealing an antique Volkswagen bug--good for learning to drive, not for going fast.”

Airport Manager Patricia Etherington said the control tower is closed at night and pilots do not have to report when they leave.