Mississippi: Aviation coy pilot hijacks plane for 4 hrs, threatening to hit Wallmart

Mississippi: An aviation company worker Cory Patterson, having good flying skills stole a King Air twin-engine jet from Tupelo`s airport and flew it over the town for about 4 hours, putting residents’ nerves on edge. Eventually he was convinced to abort any damage and was arrested after he landed in a field nearby.

Police Chief of the town Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka , “He is being charged with grand larceny and making terroristic threats. We do anticipate that the federal government will proceed with federal charges in the very near future.”  Cory Patterson had stolen a King Air twin-engine jet from Tupelo`s airport and flew it over the town for a few hours.

He eventually landed in a field and was arrested.The Walmart shop in Tupelo was evacuated after the pilot of the aircraft threatened to crash into the store, the Tupelo Police Department said. “On 09-03-2022 at approximately 05:00 am TPD was notified that a pilot of an airplane (possibly King Air type) was flying over Tupelo,” the police wrote on Facebook.

They said the pilot has made contact with E911 and is threatening to intentionally crash into Walmart on West Main.

He was eventually convinced to land the jet and received assistance from a private pilot because he had no landing experience, the police chief said.

State Governor Tate Reeves praised local, state and federal law enforcement handling the hijacking situation with “extreme professionalism.” He was satisfied, no one was injured.