A stolen aircraft was circling over Tupelo, Mississippi on Saturday morning, and the pilot threatened to crash the plane into a Walmart. Now, authorities say that the plane has been landed without any casualties. Mississippi governor Tate Reeves took to Twitter to update the public, writing that the "situation has been resolved and that no one was injured."
The stolen plane was in the air for over four hours, beginning at around 5 a.m. Saturday. Police evacuated the Walmart the aircraft was circling after the pilot threatened to crash into it. After about four hours, the pilot flew to another community nearby, and resumed circling.
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The residents of Tupelo were put on high alert. "Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given," the police wrote. "With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo." The plane, a Beechcraft King Air C90A, was stolen by an employee of a local airport, authorities allege. Federal agencies are now working to uncover more details.
After circling the Walmart, the plane made its way to a Toyota manufacturing plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi. Governor Reeves provided notifications about the rogue pilot's flight path on Twitter. "State law enforcement and emergency managers are closely tracking this dangerous situation," he wrote. "All citizens should be on alert and aware of updates from the Tupelo Police Department."
Once the plane had landed, Reeves thanked law enforcement officials for helping to bring the aircraft down.
[via]