Man threatening to crash plane into Walmart stole aircraft: Report

An aircraft pilot threatened to purposely crash the plane he was flying into Walmart on West Man in Tupelo, Mississippi, according to investigators. Stores are being evacuated, and the Tupelo police are requesting that people leave. The entire emergency response system has been activated.

Also read: Airline pilot threatens to crash plane into Walmart

According to BNO News, the pilot who is threatening to crash the plane is identified as an airport employee who stole the aircraft.

“On 09-03-2022 at approximately 05:00 am TPD was notified that a pilot of an airplane (possibly King Air type) was flying over Tupelo. The pilot has made contact with E911 and is threatening to intentionally crash into Walmart on West Main,” Tupelo police said in a statement. “TPD has worked with Wal-Mart West and Dodges on West Main to evacuate the stores and disperse people as much as practical. TPD also has been able to begin talking with the pilot directly.”

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

According to the Benton County Sheriff’s office, a small plane has crashed and the pilot, Cory Patterson, has been arrested after making threats to deliberately crash into a Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi. 

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.”  

Also read: Tupelo flight hijack: 7 things you need to know

It appeared as though the jet had crashed in or close to Curtis Lake, which is located 5 miles north of Gravestone, Mississippi, early on Saturday morning, according to Flightradar24. When it vanished, more than 300,000 users of flightradar24 were keeping an eye on it.