Girl Steals King Air In California, Crashes It

A King Air 200, similar to the one seen here, was stolen by a 17-year-old girl in California.

A few media outlets are reporting that a 17-year-old girl snuck onto the airport at Fresno's Yosemite International Airport, got aboard what looks to be a late model Textron Aviation Beechcraft King Air, started at least one of the engines and quickly crashed it.

The incident happened early this morning near a maintenance hangar at the airport. According to media reports, the youth got only one engine started before the plane pivoted and struck an obstacle, destroying the left engine and nacelle and presumably causing additional damage. Initial police reports say the plane was damaged to the tune of more than $300,000.

There are no reports on injuries, and police arrested the girl shortly after the aborted attempt. A local Fox affiliate has reported that the suspect's mother told police that her daughter had run away earlier this week. The suspected plane thief was not a pilot and had no flight training. In fact, her mother told authorities that she does not even know how to drive. Police are withholding the name of the suspect, and she is being held in a juvenile detention facility in Fresno.

We'll have more on the story as details emerge.

Plane & PilotStaff