F-16s following stolen plane — chicagotribune.com
It was unknown how much fuel was in the plane or how much training the student pilot has acquired, Kucharek said. The Web site cessna.com indicated the Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seater with a range of about 790 miles and top speed of 141 mph.
They evacuated the Capitol building in Madison, WI when the guy went over about an hour and a half ago, and he’s headed our way or beyond us by now. But what the heck? What’s his story? Obviously, he doesn’t have the radio on, he ignored “non-verbal” signals from the F-16s.
There was an “incident” earlier in the afternoon at a nearby airport, where the F-16s were trying to get the pilot to land. It appears they had emergency vehicles respond there and be ready for him, but he changed directions.
UPDATE:
Okay, it’s over when either the fat lady sings, or the pilot lands on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and makes a run for it… he’s been captured.
Federal, state and local authorities launched a manhunt for the pilot, who was identified by the FBI as Yavuz Burke, 31, a native of Turkey who became a Canadian citizen last year. He was formerly known as Adam Leon, though officials did not indicate a reason for the name change.
A federal law enforcement source said Burke parked the plane under what appeared to be a bridge or culvert, apparently in an attempt to hide it.
The plane had been intercepted and tracked by U.S. military aircraft as it flew from Canada into U.S. airspace and meandered southward for several hours before landing, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said.
It landed in the town of Ellsinore, population 360, in southern Missouri, a dispatcher with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office said.
This will no doubt be an interesting story as it develops.
