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Strange Cessna 172 Crash Gets Stranger

Skyhawk crash at airport goes undetected for six hours.

The bizarre fatal crash of a Cessna 172 at Nashville International Airport (KBNA) on Tuesday that went undetected for up to six hours took another strange turn when the pilot turned out to be a convicted Canadian bank robber.

The 172 apparently crashed sometime after 2:45 a.m. in dense fog with 45-year-old Michael Callan at the controls. The Cessna, which was owned by the flying club Callan belonged to at Windsor Airport (CYQG) in Canada, just across the border from Detroit, departed CYQG on a filed flight plan to Pelee Island, about 30 minutes away. Investigators told The Windsor Star that it’s unclear whether Callan ever landed there, but what is known is that he fatally crashed at Nashville International some time in the early morning hours.

The tower at KBNA is open 24 hours, but Callan reportedly never radioed controllers and the crash wasn’t detected until the next morning when another pilot taxiied past the charred wreckage.

The Windsor Star reported that Callan had a long criminal record including violent bank robberies dating back to the 1990s. He was also reportedly facing Internet pornography charges in Windsor.

The NTSB and FAA are investigating the crash.

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