FANNIN COUNTY, Texas — Authorities are looking for answers after a man stole a plane from a flight school near Dallas and crashed it near the Texas-Oklahoma border in Fannin County. He was pronounced dead at the scene, NBC News reports.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Cessna 172 aircraft was stolen from ATP Flight School at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas, near Dallas, on Wednesday.
DPS identified the man who stole the aircraft as 23-year-old Logan Timothy James of Stokesdale, North Carolina. DPS believe James flew northeast before crashing near the Oklahoma border towards Paris, Texas.
James is reported to have taken off at 6:53 p.m. The plane went down at about 8:26 p.m. in an open field nine miles northeast of Telephone, Texas, according to DPS. James was the only passenger on board. No other injuries were reported on the ground
According to CBS News, James was a private pilot certified ATP student.
While the plane was in the air, James spoke with air traffic control, saying he was going to stop listening to their instructions and cut off communication with them.
“About right now you’ll probably realize that I’m not going to listen to y’all’s instructions and I’m just heading to East Texas,” he said, according to ATC recordings obtained by NBC News. “I’m going to pull the comm 1 circuit breaker and the comm 2 circuit breaker right here soon, as soon as I unkey the mic.”
James’ father told CBS News that his son grew up in North Carolina and graduated from UT Dallas. James started training at ATP Flight School in June and planned on becoming a commercial airline pilot.
His dad described James as “a wonderful son, with a gentle and loving spirit.”
The reason for the crash is not clear.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).