Joyriding is already a dangerous thrill-seeking pastime. No one wants an untrained pilot taking a small jet into the skies with no planned destination. A 15-year-old attempted to steal a plane in Texarkana, Arkansas on Tuesday by walking into a private terminal and placing a handgun on the front counter. The teenage boy, also armed with an AR-style rifle, demanded an aircraft from staff at a Signature Aviation FBO.
A staff member at the private terminal agreed to help, using the opportunity to flee into a back office and call 911. This is when the armed teenager forced his way through a door out onto the tarmac at Texarkana Regional Airport, the New York Times reports. A private pilot spotted the teen, grabbed his own gun and ordered the teen to get on the ground. He thankfully compiled.
Minutes later, officers from the Texarkana Police Department arrived at the scene and arrested the boy before transferring him to a juvenile detention center. He’s not facing charges of aggravated assault, attempted aggravated robbery and terroristic threatening in the first degree. Airport director Paul Mehrlich told KSLA:
“And we feel it did work in the way it’s supposed to, but of course, any time you have an incident like this, we find ways to improve it, make it faster. If you can shave 10 to 15 seconds off, that can mean more lives saved in the future. We will find ways to improve our system, but we are very proud that today nobody was hurt.”
This isn’t the first time that a teenager has decided that cars aren’t exciting enough to joyride. Last September, two teens in New York City stole an unoccupied subway train. They crashed almost immediately into another parked train. Despite fleeing the scene, the police identified them using surveillance footage and arrested them both. It arguably would’ve been safer to just steal someone’s car keys.
