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F-16s follow plane believed stolen in Canada

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-07 15:32

WAUSAU, Wis. -- A student pilot flying a small plane believe stolen from an airport in Canada ignored interceptor jet fighters and flew over three states before he landed on a road in southeast Missouri, hopped out and ran away, federal officials said.

The pilot hadn't communicated with authorities through the entire flight. The incident caused the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison to be evacuated as a precaution as the plane flew through that section of the state.

Four F-16C Fighting Falcons from the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin Air National Guard fly over Wisconsin's capital city of Madison during a routine training mission, in this October 18, 2008 file photo. [Agencies]

Mike Kucharek, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado, said the Cessna 172 was stolen from Thunder Bay, Ontario, about 2:30 pm Monday. The pilot was flying erratically and didn't communicate with the fighter pilots from the Wisconsin Air National Guard, who intercepted the plane at the Michigan-Wisconsin border, he said.

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The pilot had acknowledged seeing the F-16s but he didn't obey their nonverbal commands to follow them, Kucharek said.

Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the plane finally landed Monday night on a road in far southeastern Missouri and the pilot ran. Local law enforcement were converging on the area.

The aircraft had stayed at a "fairly constant altitude his entire flight," at around 14,500 feet, she said. There was no way of knowing the male pilot's intent because he hadn't communicated with anyone.

Authorities know his identity, she said, but she declined to release his age or name.

She said the plane came from the Confederation College Flight School at Thunder Bay International Airport.

Kucharek said the plane had enough fuel to fly for nearly eight hours. The Web site cessna.com indicated the Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seater with a range of about 790 miles and top speed of 141 mph.

In Madison, Department of Justice spokesman Bill Cosh said the state Capitol building was evacuated shortly after 5 p.m. as a precaution because of the unknown intentions of the pilot.

Many workers had already left for the day. Gov. Jim Doyle was not in the building. He had been in Chicago Monday.

People were allowed back in the building about an hour later.