The FBI arrested Christian Estoque, 38, in California, charging him with operating an unregistered aircraft after he allegedly stole a plane from Auburn Municipal Airport in Washington state.
Estoque, who does not hold any pilot certificates, admitted to being under the influence of methamphetamine when operating the plane.
The stolen Van's RV-12iS, taken on January 3, had its transponder disengaged during its unauthorized flight and was recovered three days later at Corona Municipal Airport.
The FBI has arrested a suspect in the theft of an aircraft in Washington state.
According to a statement from the agency, an investigation by the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force led to the arrest of Christian Estoque, 38, of Pomona, California, on January 27. Estoque was charged with operating an unregistered aircraft.
CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT
Sign up to keep reading
Create a free account to continue. Already a member? Sign in below.
Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
