But That Second Landing Was A Real Dinger

A 14-year old boy found a key inside an unlocked Cessna 152 parked at an airport near Tuscaloosa, AL, Wednesday night, taking the aircraft for a late-night joyride that almost cost him his life, authorities said.

The boy landed twice during his 30-minute adventure -- the second landing not quite as good as the first, police said. The boy had no flying experience.

It started at around 2300 local when, according to a statement from the boy to police, he stole his  mother's van and drove to the airport in Fort Payne, AL. He spotted the plane, found the key, then released the aircraft from its tie-downs, the statement said.

The boy then started the engine and began "driving the plane around, and the next thing he knew he was in the air," according to Police Chief David Walker.

The chief said the boy -- who wasn't identified because of his age -- flew the aircraft for about five minutes before landing. Apparently emboldened by his success, the lad took off again on a longer flight, passing over several parts of Tuscaloosa before heading back to the airport.

But the second landing wasn't anywhere near as the first apparently was, according to Walker. The landing was apparently more than he could handle and, according to the chief, the boy lost control of the aircraft.

"The plane left the runway and the juvenile stated he gave it more throttle to try to get back in the air and avoid the fence," Walker told local reporters.

The boy cleared the fence. But the engine quit, Walker said, and the boy pancaked on a nearby road. The landing gear collapsed and the prop dug into the roadway.

How did he get onto the airport in the first place? Fort Payne Mayor Bill Jordan said the field was secure -- except for a single open gate.

"It's a miracle the boy wasn't killed or someone else wasn't hurt or killed or that we didn't have significant property damage from the plane crashing somewhere else," Jordan told the Fort Payne Times-Journal. "The last thing you think about is a 14-year-old stealing a plane from the airport."

Of course, there were questions among local leaders about the security at the airport. Airport manager Larry Noble Cowart acknowledged things might have been a little lax.

"We've never had a problem before with planes being stolen, so I guess we have been a little lax in our security," Cowart told the Times-Journal. He owns Valley Aviation, which runs the airport. He also owns the airplane that was taken late Wednesday. "He could have just walked in. There's no evidence of forced entry. The plane was tied down with chains, but the planes aren't typically locked."

The joyride earned the 14-year old a night in juvenile detention.

FAA Preliminary Accident Report

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 5527M        Make/Model: C152      Description: 152, A152, Aerobat
  Date: 06/16/2005     Time: 

  Event Type: Incident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: FORT PAYNE   State: AL   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  ACFT ON ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF, CRASHED, FORT PAYNE, AL

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1    Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:    0    Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:          Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: 160400Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 18/17 A2989

OTHER DATA

  Departed:                             Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
  Destination:                          Flt Plan:              Wx Briefing: 
  Last Radio Cont: 
  Last Clearance: 

  FAA FSDO: BIRMINGHAM, AL  (SO09)                Entry date: 06/16/2005

FMI: www.ntsb.gov