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| Date: | Thursday 8 February 2024 |
| Time: | c. 17:00 LT |
| Type: |  American Champion 7GCAA Citabria Adventure |
| Owner/operator: | Eyes Outside LLC |
| Registration: | N446AC |
| MSN: | 446-2000 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2000 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | S of Poplar Beach, Half Moon Bay, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Illegal Flight |
| Departure airport: | Palo Alto Airport, CA (PAO/KPAO) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
An American Champion 7GCAA Citabria Adventure was stolen from Palo Alto Airport (PAO/KPAO), and experienced an emergency landing incident to beach terrain south of Poplar Beach, Half Moon Bay, California.
The aircraft came to rest on the nose and received minor damage and the sole pilot (thief) was not injured during the incident and was arrested.
The aircraft was not tracked as the transponder, required for flight in controlled airspace, was not turned on during the flight.
Evidence suggests the thief first attempted to steal a Cirrus SR22T from the same ramp.
Sources:
https://abc7news.com/plane-lands-in-poplar-beach-emergency-landing-san-mateo-county-faa-single-engine/14401665/
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-half-moon-bay-beach-one-arrested/
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=446AC
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N446AC
https://advantage-aviation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/image0-11-1024x711.jpeg (photo)
Location
Media:
STOLEN PLANE: @SMCSheriff confirms a man stole this plane from Palo Alto Airport & landed just south of Poplar Beach. Authorities say the suspect, a 50-yr-old man from Miami-Dade, walked away & was arrested within minutes.
— LaurenABC7 (@LaurenABC7) February 9, 2024
Vid: SMCSO @abc7newsbayarea https://t.co/W8MgoiVJt7 pic.twitter.com/NIRClMymnR
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Feb-2024 03:52 | Geno | Added |
| 09-Feb-2024 05:15 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Total occupants, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-Feb-2024 15:40 | vasilf | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 10-Feb-2024 09:24 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 13-Feb-2024 09:03 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Narrative, ] |
| 15-Feb-2024 20:49 | jussomeguy | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 03-Dec-2024 08:07 | RobertMB | Updated [Location, Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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