Used Aircraft Without Permission For 'Joyrides' Over The Summer And Fall

An 18-year-old man who reportedly taught himself to fly has pleaded guilty in Roseau County District Court in Minnesota to using an airplane without the owner’s permission over the past summer and fall.

Geoffery Biteman does not hold a pilot certificate of any kind, yet he managed to fly a Cessna 150 from Roseau to multiple airports in Minnesota and North Dakota over the summer, according to a report in the Grand Forks Herald. Biteman, who lives in Thief River Falls, was charged with felony theft of a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of an aircraft, a misdemeanor. He has pleaded guilty to both counts.

The Cessna reportedly belongs to Maj. Joshua Rasmussen of Angle Inlet, MN, Maj. Rasmussen is on active duty with the Air Force in Afghanistan.

Biteman was caught when another pilot became suspicious of his activities and contacted authorities after seeing the plane at the Roseau airport, where the two young men aboard used a courtesy car available to pilots. That pilot contacted Roseau police, who eventually called the airport manager in Thief River Falls. The manager said Biteman had been flying all summer, but found it odd that he'd been refueling the 150 with regular gas for cars from gas cans rather than aviation fuel available at the airport.

Biteman was eventually arrested at a beet farm near St. Thomas, ND. The farm's owner, Kevin Lee, had hired Biteman to drive a beet truck, and the teenager had landed there in the Cessna 150 one night on an unlit road. He taxied the plane into Lee's yard, where it was found by authorities.

When he was arrested October 22, Biteman confirmed that he did not have a pilot's license or permission to use the plane. He did say he was an aviation mechanic student.

(Geoffery Biteman photo provided by The Roseau Police Department)

FMI: www.co.roseau.mn.us/court-administrator.html