An Idaho man was arrested after allegedly stealing a plane from a North Las Vegas hangar, flying it over 100 miles into southern California, and eventually landing on a road outside the Barstow airport and running into a desert area after officers inquired about the aircraft, the AP reports. The man, who is currently in custody in San Bernardino County, faces charges of possession of a stolen airplane and taking stolen property across state lines from the incident, which occurred on Saturday, according to the county sheriff's department. There could be additional charges in Nevada, according to KSNV. The station identifies the suspect as 40-year-old Damien Zukaitis.
Zukaitis allegedly landed the stolen Kitfox fixed-wing single-engine aircraft on a dirt road near the Barstow airport. ABC7 reports that police say they found beer and other alcohol in the aircraft. North Las Vegas officials said the man could also be behind attempted airplane burglaries in the three previous days before his arrest. The aircraft was valued at about $80,000, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Weston Prince, an instructor pilot with three planes based at North Las Vegas Airport, tells KSNV that he has had fuel and parts stolen from his aircraft and he hopes security is stepped up.
Prince says he saw the stolen aircraft take off. "We were coming in to land, the plane took off kind of a little shaky on the radios," he says. "But immediately, as soon as it rotated off the runway, it completely veered off almost into the other runway, and made a pretty big commotion. We were kind of like, 'What the heck is wrong with this guy?'" (More airport stories.)
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