Vandals Tag Learjet with Graffiti

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A Learjet 60 at Van Nuys Airport was vandalized with graffiti after suspects breached the airport's secured perimeter.
  • The incident is under investigation by multiple agencies, including the LAPD (specifically its gang unit), FBI, and Los Angeles World Airports Police.
  • More than a week after the vandalism, investigators still lack answers regarding the motive or the individuals responsible for the damage to the multi-million-dollar aircraft owned by Des Aviation.
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Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles World Airports Police are trying to determine who got through the secured perimeter of Van Nuys Airport in Van Nuys, California, and why graffiti messages were spray-painted all over the fuselage of a Learjet 60. The jet was parked at a privately leased ramp near the Sherman Way tunnel, located near the center of VNY, according to a statement from Diane Sanchez, public and community relations director at Van Nuys Airport.

More than a week after the incident, no answers have been uncovered as to why the vandalism happened, but the incident is being investigated by the gang unit in the West Valley division of the LAPD. “It looks like some suspects entered Van Nuys Airport and vandalized a jet,” said Officer Cleon Joseph, public information officer at LAPD. “They spray painted the front and the rear end. LAX police took a vandalism report. And that’s all we have.”

The multi-million-dollar airplane is owned by a company called Des Aviation based in Malibu, California, which also owns a Challenger 600.

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Pia Bergqvist

Pia Bergqvist joined FLYING in December 2010. A passionate aviator, Pia started flying in 1999 and quickly obtained her single- and multi-engine commercial, instrument and instructor ratings. After a decade of working in general aviation, Pia has accumulated almost 3,000 hours of flight time in nearly 40 different types of aircraft.

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