Pilot threatening to crash stolen plane into a Walmart store in city lands safely: Mississippi Gov
Washington, Sep 3: A pilot, who was circling a stolen airplane for hours over Tupelo, a city in the state of Mississippi in the US, and threatened to intentionally crash it into a Walmart store has been taken into custody after he landed the aircraft safely, Governor Tate Reeves said on Saturday.
Mississippi Governor Reeves announced on Twitter that the situation has been resolved and that no one was injured.
The plane over North MS is down. Thankful the situation has been resolved and that no one was injured. Thank you most of all to local, state, and federal law enforcement who managed this situation with extreme professionalism, Reeves said in a tweet.
The pilot was taken into police custody, authorities said.
The nine-seater airplane started circling over Tupelo, Mississippi, about 5 am local time, when the pilot made contact with 911, issuing the threat, according to CNN.
It was airborne for more than five hours, which police described as a dangerous situation.
About 8:30 am local time, the plane was north of Tupelo, police said.
A government source said the aircraft was later flying over the Holly Springs National Forest, CNN reported.
A reporter of local television station WTVA showed footage of the plane perched in a field, according to the BBC.
The Daily Journal, a local newspaper, reported that the pilot of the plane is an employee of Tupelo Regional Airport.
Authorities believe the aircraft a Beechcraft King Air C90A was stolen.
An online flight tracking service showed the plane meandering in the sky for several hours and following a looping path.
Details of the conversation between the pilot and police while he was in the air, or his identity, were not immediately made public, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, the Walmart and another nearby store were earlier evacuated by security officials, while citizens were asked to avoid the area.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it "is aware and is coordinating with local law enforcement," the agency told CNN Saturday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
After arriving from Delhi, Shinde heads to his native village; Mahayuti meet likely on Sun
Mumbai(PTI): Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results.
Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday.
However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said.
The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister.
Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls.
Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said.
"The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said.
During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader.
Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion “good and positive”.
Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
