Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This is the moment a 13-year-old steals a small plane from a holiday resort hangar before he crashes it but he then manages to take a second one for a spin.
The unnamed child, 13, sneaked into the runway, which is a giant outdoor car park, and managed to glide both light-sport aircraft around after midnight on 15th July.
Staff at the Taihu National Holiday Resort, which is on the shores of Taihu Lake in Huzhou City in East China’s Zhejiang Province, arrived the following morning to find both SeaRey flying boats – one red and one yellow – outside of their hangar.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
One of the aircraft had been crashed against a barrier, while the other was parked nearby.
CCTV images revealed the culprit to be a teenage boy, who is seen sitting alone in the red plane’s cockpit before losing control and slamming into the runway’s end barrier.
But the accident does not deter him, and he is seen driving the second flying boat around too, though thankfully not crashing it.
He reportedly left on his electric bike after doing two to three circles.
Staff at the flight base, which uses the SeaRey flying boats for sightseeing services, recalled seeing the curious boy the day before while they were inspecting the aircraft.
The child stared at the planes – built by US aviation company Progressive Aerodyne – for two hours, and is thought to have hatched a plan to try and fly them.
Investigators called to look into the case said they found the child at home doing schoolwork, his dad and his two sisters completely unaware that he had sneaked out at night to steal the flying boats.
The owners of the light-sport aircraft have accepted 2,000 RMB (230 GBP) in compensation from the family, despite reporting that the red plane suffered an estimated 8,000 RMB (930 GBP) in damage to one of its floats as well as its hull.
Tourist flight base supervisor Mr He said the boy pushed both flying boats out of the hangar and climbed into the open cockpit to start the ignition.
However, even if he had managed to glide at high speed along the runway, the teenager would not have been able to take off – that requires a trained pilot to adjust the flap angles, Mr He added.
The supervisor said: “This child is truly very smart. We admire him! He was able to start the plane without any training, just by observing us.
“He has potential! I hope he is able to take some flight courses with us in the future and become a licensed pilot.”
Mr He said he would improve sight security to prevent similar incidents from happening.
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