US man arrested for stealing flight, threatening to storm Walmart
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A man who stole a small plane kept police on edge for hours in Mississippi US, after he threatened to fly into a Walmart shop.
Cory Wayne Patterson was arrested for theft and terroristic threats as he landed in a field having circled over Tupelo here for hours, according to BBC.
The Walmart store was immediately evacuated as police spoke to the suspect in mid-air.
It was much like a Hollywood thriller with a crazy villain being chased by police in another plane alongside negotiators trying to calm down the man.
Patterson who worked at a local airport received some fight instructions without holding a pilot's license.
After stealing the small Beechcraft King Air twin-engine aircraft that can seat 10-11 people at 05:00 local time, he took to the skies.
While flying he phoned 911 issuing threat to storm a branch of Walmart, prompting police to warn of a "dangerous situation" at the store.
Finally police managed to persuade Patterson to land at the airport but he had no experience to do the manoeuvre, and he landed the aircraft in a field.
Flight-trackers monitored the plane as it charted an erratic course above the city and in the wider area, BBC said.
After the radar contact with the flight was lost amid concerns that it was running out of fuel, reporter of local television station showed the aircraft sitting in a field.