A Tupelo, Mississippi man accused of stealing a plane and threatening to crash it into a local Walmart has landed in Ashland and been taken into custody. The plane is reportedly intact.
Suspect Cory Patterson is alleged by officials to have worked for a fixed-base operator at the Tupelo Regional Airport.
At around 5 a.m. Saturday morning, 911 operators in Tupelo received a call from the plane, already airborne, threatening to crash into the town’s Walmart. The store and surrounding area were evacuated.
Leslie Criss, a Tupelo resident, told the Associated Press that “I’ve never seen anything like this in this town. It’s a scary way to wake up on a Saturday morning.”
The plane continued to fly over the succeeding hours. At 8:12 a.m, authorities reported the plane was flying over the Toyota plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi.
It was around 9:43 a.m. that law enforcement identified the suspect as Cory Patterson.
Mr. Patterson posted on Facebook Saturday morning that “‘Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister, this isn’t your fault. Goodbye,’” according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
By 10:23 a.m, the plane had landed in Ashland, Mississippi, and Mr. Patterson was in the custody of the Benton County Sheriff’s Department as of 10:35 a.m.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves confirmed the plane was down on Twitter.
The plane over North MS is down. Thankful the situation has been resolved and that no one was injured. Thank you most of all to local, state, and federal law enforcement who managed this situation with extreme professionalism.
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) September 3, 2022
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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