Author Topic: 16-year-old boy caused a plane to 'dive towards the ground' grabbing controls  (Read 1990 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/a-16-year-old-boy-caused-a-plane-to-dive-towards-the-ground-by-grabbing-its-controls/ar-BBTt0ke?li=BBnbfcL

A boy barely old enough to drive a car was arrested after grabbing the yoke of a plane flying over Alaska.A 16-year-old “briefly” took the controls of a Piper Cherokee Six Thursday, where he was one of four passengers on a 19-mile flight from the 367-person town of Napakiak to the 6,400-person city of Bethel. According to KYUK.org, which first reported the story, that flight takes about four minutes.

The teenager’s sudden actions allegedly “caused the plane to enter a steep climb and then a dive towards the ground” before a female passenger sitting behind the amateur hijacker pulled him away from the plane’s yoke.

The pilot returned to Napakiak where the boy escaped before authorities were able to arrest him on the scene. They reportedly picked him up a day later in Bethel.

According to the report, the FBI is involved in the case as interfering with a plane in flight is a federal offense. The alleged perp’s name has not been released because he’s a minor.

No injuries were reported among the three passengers who resumed their trip to Bethel after the alleged instigator had disembarked.

Yute Commuter Service, which owns the plane, said that particular model has no safeguards to keep passengers away from the plane’s yoke.