Heist gone wrong: Thief crashes stolen helicopter at Sacramento Airport
The damaged helicopter
A helicopter crashed in the early hours of Wednesday in the US state of California after a thief attempted to steal it, reported Associated Press. The incident took place at the Sacramento Executive Airport
Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident as the thief fled the spot while the authorities remain on the lookout. Sacramento police informed that the intruder trespassed into the property between 4 AM and 6 AM local time and attempted to hotwire four helicopters sitting on the tarmac. The thief got lucky with one chopper, managing to start it but soon lost control over it.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been called upon to investigate the accident. The agency informed it had already zeroed in on a suspect. Sean Reagan, special agent in charge said the agency collected surveillance video and witness information leading to a particular person of interest.
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Reagan added that the agency was trying to determine the motive of the thief.
"If someone wanted to take an aircraft for a joyride, someone who wanted to take an aircraft to do some other criminal activity or damage to other property, terrorism would be at the other end of the scope."
Meanwhile, the Bell 429 heavy-lift helicopter which belonged to a company named Capitol Helicopters released a statement and hoped that the perpetrator was caught early.
"Sometime early this morning several helicopters operated by our company were vandalized by an individual unknown to us, and one aircraft was severely damaged. All our employees are safe, and we do not believe that anyone was injured in today’s events," read the statement.
This incident is currently under investigation by several state and federal authorities. We are hopeful that the people responsible are located quickly. We have no further information to report at this time. We appreciate the support from all the agencies and individuals involved."
Alongside FBI,Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board have also started investigating the case.
(With inputs from agencies)
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