Owner Last Saw Plane In August

Be on the lookout at your local airport for a 2002 Cessna T182 (file photo of type, right), registration N184TA, that was stolen from its hangar last month at California's El Monte Airport (EMT). The plane's exterior is white, with red and gray stripes.

According to media reports, the theft was discovered when the plane's owner, Vincent McLeod III went to the airport to get in some pre-Thanksgiving air time. He found the hangar empty -- even the maintenance records were gone, said McLeod -- but the two locks on the hangar door didn't appear to be broken.

This is the second time in two years a plane has been taken from the airport, located east of the Los Angeles basin, according to a police detective -- an alarming statistic for pilots, although plane theft was referred to as a "rarity" by the detective.

The theft was reported to the LA County Terrorism Early Warning Group, according to El Monte police.

"You just wonder about security at the airport," said McLeod. "I think they should lock the airport better."

Airport manager Rafael Herrera said county police told him they would begin extra patrols of the airport, and claimed the county replaced their locks on the hangars about two months ago -- despite McLeod's claim the hangar's former tenants told him former airport workers still had keys to the locks.

McLeod last saw the plane in August before he went on a trip to Europe.

"I don't know when they took it. It could be used for all sorts of purposes," he said. "It's a brand new plane. I want my plane back."

FMI: www.aopa.org/whatsnew/region/burglary.html