Tuesday, April 07, 2009

The Little Plane That Could


Yavuz Berke, who allegedly stole a Cessna plane from a Canadian flight school and was pursued for hours across the Midwest by fighter jets, was taken into custody after he landed on a Missouri highway late today and took off running.
(ABC News)


Stolen Plane Chased by F-16 Jets, Man Arrested

WAUSAU, Wis. — A man suspected of stealing a plane from Canada, flying erratically over three states and attracting U.S. fighter escorts was in custody Tuesday after landing on a rural Missouri road.

Amazing really. Not that he was able to steal a plane or that he was able to penetrate US airspace and fly unobstructed across half the country. Or that he wasn't shot down by American fighter aircraft.

What is amazing to me? Is that while this individual is a Canadian national? He is Turkish by birth, At the least in light of the president's just leaving Turkey this morning and having spent the day there yesterday, some mention of the oddity of coincidence should perhaps have been in order. Or possibly the fact that a Muslim was able to penetrate American airspace and fly along unfettered for almost six hours before running out of gas. Not to mention, that he took the plane from a flight school that he was obviously familiar enough with, to know that he could steal a plane there.

Only to be found later in a convenience store mumbling about his tragic life and how he wanted to commit suicide. Perhaps it's just me? But Muslims flying planes into my country and contemplating suicide? I have a problem with that and I certainly believe that it warrants more scrutiny than a simple "isn't this interesting" style of reporting.

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