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ASHLAND, MS-The pilot of the stolen plane that threatened to crash near Walmart in Tupelo has landed the plane and been taken into custody. The plane landed in Ashland, Mississippi about 60 miles northwest of Tupelo where he had targeted the Walmart.
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 pilot has made contact with E911 and is threatening to intentionally crash into Wal Mart on West Main.
ASHLAND, MS-The pilot of the stolen plane that threatened to crash near Walmart in Tupelo has landed the plane and been taken into custody. The plane landed in Ashland, Mississippi about 60 miles northwest of Tupelo where he had targeted the Walmart.The plane a stolen Beechcraft King 1987 C90A model circled North Mississippi for nearly 4 hours before landing in a field near Ashland, Mississippi.
The pilot of the stolen plane reportedly was Cory Patterson of Shannon, Mississippi who may have been employed by a company located at the Tupelo airport. According to a Facebook post allegedly made by Patterson he indented to crash the plane. At 9:30 a.m., Cory Patterson of Shannon posted on Facebook that he was sorry and didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He ended the post with “goodbye.”
It is still unclear as to the details of the landing. It is know that the police department was in contact with the pilot while he was
Cory Patterson origin: Facebook
airborne. The motive for the incident remains unclear. Benton County Sheriff Robby Goosby said Patterson has been taken into custody. Local, State and Federal Authorities were involved in this situation.
The Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves had a statement through Twitter:“Thankful the situation has been resolved and that no one was injured. “Thank you most of all to local, state, and federal law enforcement who managed this situation with extreme professionalism.”
“Update 09-03-2022 @ approximately 08:35 am the plane is reported to be airborne north of Tupelo in the Benton, Union County Area. Local, State and Federal Authorities are continuing to monitor this dangerous situation.
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 pilot has made contact with E911 and is threatening to intentionally crash into Wal Mart on West Main.TPD has worked with Wal-Mart West and Dodges on West Main to evacuate the stores and disperse people as much as practical. TPD also has been able to begin talking with the pilot directly.
At this time the situation is ongoing with TPD and all Emergency Services in our area on alert.
Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given. With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.”
