Took Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars In Electronic Equipment

At least nine airplanes at Nashua, NH Airport (KASH) were damaged by thieves who took tens of thousands of dollars of electronic equipment over the weekend.

The thefts were discovered early Saturday. Television station WMUR reports that there are about 200 airplanes based at the airport in hangars and tied down on the tarmac. Airport manager Chris Lynch said that "everyone feels extremely violated."

Officials said the thieves took GPS and communications equipment from the airplanes. Farrell Woods, chairman of the Nashua Airport Authority Board that the losses from each individual airplane ranged from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Lynch said that the thieves knew what they were looking for because the airplanes' transponders, which were individually serialized to a particular aircraft and owner, were left behind.

The thieves used a pry bar to break the locks on the airplanes, and the doors were damaged. One airplane to which they did not gain access suffered a broken window and door handle.

Lynch said that tampering with an aircraft is a federal offense. "It's a very serious crime," he said.

FMI: Source report