THE NATION - News from April 7, 2009
The suspected pilot of a plane stolen from Canada and flown into the U.S. where it was trailed by fighter jets was captured near a rural stretch of road in Missouri where he landed.
The single-engine, four-seat plane was intercepted by U.S. fighter jets over Wisconsin, where it prompted the evacuation of the state Capitol, but kept flying south after the pilot failed to respond to radio calls and other signals.
Mike Kucharek, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado, said the Cessna 172 was stolen from Thunder Bay, Ontario, about 2:30 p.m. The pilot was flying erratically and didn’t communicate with the fighter pilots from the Wisconsin Air National Guard who intercepted the plane at the Michigan-Wisconsin border, he said.
The pilot had acknowledged seeing the F-16s but didn’t obey their nonverbal commands to follow them, Kucharek said.
The pilot finally landed the plane on a road near Poplar Bluff in southeastern Missouri, said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Adam Dylan Leon, 31, was taken into custody about 9:30 p.m., said Sgt. Marty Elmore, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
