It has been claimed that the hijacked plane’s pilot, who threatened to deliberately crash into a Walmart while flying over Mississippi, landed in the state’s northern region.
According to Newsspill, the reportedly stolen aircraft touched down in a field in Benton County, southwest of Ashland, and seemed to be “in one piece.”
However, according law enforcement and airport sources cited in local news reports, the pilot is in police custody and has been identified as Cory Patterson of Shannon, Mississippi, according to Mississippi’s Daily Journal.
An apparent suicide note was previously shared on Facebook by Patterson. Sorry to everyone. Never really intended to cause harm to anyone. This isn’t your fault, and I adore my parents and sister. Goodbye,”
According to authorities, the drama started around 5 a.m. local time on Saturday. It was “notified that a pilot of an airplane (perhaps of the King Air type) was flying above Tupelo, a city in northeast Mississippi,” according to a statement from the Tupelo Police Department (TPD). The pilot is threatening to purposely crash into Walmart on West Main and has made contact with E911.
Although it is unknown if the pilot is certified, it is thought that they work at the Tupelo airport. The Beechcraft King Air 90, which has two engines, nine passengers, and can fly for four and a half hours on a full tank, was reportedly above a local national forest at approximately 10.30am.
Until the area has been given the all-clear, residents were requested to stay away. They cautioned that the risk zone was considerably bigger than even Tupelo because to the kind of airplane’s movement.
“TPD has collaborated with Dodges on West Main and Walmart West to evacuate the stores and disperse customers as much as possible. According to Newsspill, TPD was also able to have a direct conversation with the pilot.
A screenshot from Flightaware shows a jet circling the area in a strange way. The jet was apparently seen flying in circles above houses and businesses in a video that was released on Twitter.
State law enforcement and emergency management are actively monitoring this perilous scenario, the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, stated in a statement. Everyone in the community has to remain vigilant and informed of any changes from the Tupelo police department.
Walmart’s Tupelo location is “now shuttered and evacuated,” according to a spokeswoman.
Charles Crowson, head of the Walmart press office, said: “We’re collaborating closely with regional investigations and are sending inquiries to law authorities.”
On Saturday morning, a twin turboprop Beechcraft King Air was seen flying erratically above Tupelo before heading 40 miles northwest through Benton and Union Counties in Mississippi before landing at 10:07 a.m. in Benton County.
According to the website, the jet circled and veered in several directions while flying between 900 and 2,000 feet above the ground.
An airline employee took off in an unauthorarily chartered turboprop passenger jet in August 2018 from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington. Richard B. Russell, a ground service employee, perished after the aircraft collided with an island in Puget Sound, some 30 miles from the airport.