Hijacked Tupelo plane down, pilot who threatened to crash into Walmart in custody

The Benton County Sheriff’s office reports that a small plane has crashed and that Cory Patterson, the pilot, is being detained by law enforcement after threatening to purposefully crash into a Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi. 

Also read: Who is Corry Patterson? Man threatening to fly plane into Walmart

Mississippi governor Tate Reeves tweeted, “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.”

Early on Saturday morning, Flightradar24 reported that it appeared as though the plane had crashed in or close to Curtis Lake, which is situated 5 miles north of Gravestone, Mississippi. On flightradar24, more than 300,000 people were monitoring it when it disappeared. 

Also read: Tupelo plane hijack: Mississippi governor Tate Reeves asks citizens to stay alert

The Tupelo Police Department received a tip that a pilot of an aircraft, most likely of the King Air type, was passing above the city at around 5 a.m. local time. A police report claims that the pilot threatened to intentionally crash the plane while speaking with E911.

Police assisted Walmart and a nearby Dodge’s evacuate their stores and dispersing customers as much as possible. All emergency services, including the local police force, were on high alert.

Also read: Watch: Video of pilot threatening to crash plane into Walmart in Tupelo

“Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given. With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo,” a police statement read.

According to Flightradar24, the pilot was flying erratically between 500 and 1500 metres above mean sea level, very low, and far to the northwest of Tupelo. The incident was being closely monitored by Mississippi state law enforcement, according to governor Tate Reeves’ tweet. The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that it had been monitoring the situation as well.

Also read: Man threatening to crash plane into Walmart stole aircraft: Report

“State law enforcement and emergency managers are closely tracking this dangerous situation. All citizens should be on alert and aware of updates from the Tupelo Police Department,” Reeves had tweeted.