C-182 stolen from So. California airport.

[slowandlow]

Local man's plane stolen
Cessna housed at El Monte Airport
By Ruby Gonzales Staff Writer
EL MONTE - Vincent McLeod III was going to practice flying Nov. 20 but soon learned someone had clipped his wings.
His $316,000 Cessna been stolen from its hangar at El Monte Airport on Santa Anita Avenue.
And El Monte police say the theft has been reported to the county's Terrorism Early Warning Group. The group is notified when an airplane is stolen.
Detective Gabriel Santana said the last time a plane was stolen from the airport was more than two years ago.
"Plane theft is a rarity," Santana said.
The hangar sported two intact locks and police said there weren't any signs of forced entry.
One lock is the owner's and the other belongs to the county. In addition to the plane, McLeod said the aircraft's maintenance records also were taken.
"You just wonder about security at the airport," McLeod, a Whittier resident, said. "I think they should lock the airport better."
Airport manager Rafael Herrera said County Police told him they would begin extra patrols.
They replaced the county's locks on the hangars about two months ago because they were old, according to Herrera.
McLeod assumed his lock wasn't replaced. He said one of the tenants told him there were former airport employees who still had keys to the locks.
Herrera said that wasn't true.
McLeod last saw the plane in August before he went on a trip to Europe.
"I don't know when they took it. It could be used for all sorts of purposes," he said. "It's a brand new plane. I want my plane back."
It is a fixed-wing single-engine Cessna 182T with global positioning system navigation. The plane, which seats four, is white with red and gray stripes and only had 400 hours of flight time. The number on the tail is N184TA. The McLeods bought the plane in 2002 and use it for their business, Budway Trucking and Warehousing. They fly to meet with customers, according to McLeod's father, Vincent McLeod Jr.Anyone with information is asked to call El Monte police at (626) 580-2176.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_3277139

[jdflight]

Probably the repo man.

[Sprint100]

Originally Posted by jdflight

Probably the repo man.

Wierd because they say the locks were intact. Last I heard that meant untouched.

[JaceTheAce]

I doubt it'd be very difficult to locate it eventually. An airplane is easy to spot, especially a newer 182 with a specific tail number.

[scottyboy75]

He hasn't seen his plane since Aug. Wouldn't you at least go down and maybe check the hangar every now and then? Check the batteries? Something

[BrettInLJ]

I bet the insurance company is looking at this very closely. The theives were able to get in an out without any forced entry, knew where the log books were and took them (aren't those usually kept in a locked cabinet). The owner has an alabi that is almost too perfect. Most people underestimate that insurance investigators can be as detailed or more so than law enforcement. If it is insurance fraud this guy will have a long time to think about what he did.