A 75-year-old California man is baffled after his vintage plane has been repeatedly stolen, taken for joyrides, repaired, and returned — all without explanation.
Jason Hong, the owner of a 1958 Cessna Skyhawk, told the Los Angeles Times that the strange saga began on July 27, his birthday, when he went to visit his aircraft at Corona Municipal Airport, east of Anaheim, only to find it missing.
“I thought, ‘Did I park it somewhere else? Did the airport manager move it?’ But I looked all over,” Hong recalled.
After asking around, Hong discovered that an unknown pilot had flown his plane across Southern California — and this wasn’t the first time. Two days later, police found the Cessna at Brackett Field Airport, about 25 miles away. It was parked without damage, except for some garbage and cigarette butts left inside.
Hoping to prevent another theft, Hong removed the plane’s battery. But when he returned a week later, the Cessna was gone again. This time it was located at San Gabriel Valley Airport, 18 miles from the previous site — with a brand new battery installed.
Corona Police Sergeant Robert Montanez called the case highly unusual. “The plane keeps disappearing out of the blue,” he said, noting that airplane theft is so rare that Hong had to fill out paperwork meant for stolen cars.
Hong used the tracking website Flight Aware and discovered the mystery pilot flew his Cessna twice on his 75th birthday — including one flight at 1:30 a.m. He believes the person is skilled, since “landing is not easy” and replacing a plane battery requires both tools and expertise.
Between the new battery, a fresh headset found in the cockpit, and the tools needed, Hong estimates the thief has spent hundreds of dollars maintaining the aircraft. “It’s like someone breaks my window, and then they put a new one up,” he said.
The only potential clue comes from another pilot at San Gabriel Valley Airport, who reported seeing a woman in her 40s or 50s sitting inside Hong’s plane multiple times instead of using the air-conditioned lounge.
Hong has now chained the Cessna at the airport and is waiting for a full inspection before flying again. But the central mystery remains: who keeps taking the plane — and why?
