MORGANTON, N.C. — New video shows a thief at a Burke County airport causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage by moving planes around a hangar and deputies are now asking for the public’s help.
Someone reportedly broke into the Foothills Airport at about 8:40 p.m. on May 26 and tried to steal a plane.
Cameras inside the hanger not only captured him checking out some of the single-engine aircrafts, but also getting two of them cranked up.
At one point, one of the planes appears to have slammed into a golf cart in the building, damaging the plane. The planes were never airborne.
The damage to the three plane was estimated to be bout $200,000, according to court records.
Deputies believe the person may be driving a white or silver colored SUV, possibly a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The sheriff’s office said deputies alerted other airports in the area about the break-in and stepped-up patrols at Foothills Airport. The FBI and State Bureau of Investigation were also notified.
The motive is not known.
“We’re not sure why someone would go to the airport and try to steal an airplane,” said Sheriff Banks Hinceman. “We plan on charging this individual with these crimes of course the damage to the airplanes.”
Pilot Paul Bartlett said he’s frustrated that someone would consider taking a plane.
“Needs to be caught and prosecuted,” he said. “That’s a (federal) offense, messing with an airplane so he needs the book thrown at him.”
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