A 13-Year-Old Who Stole A Plane And Crashed It Praised As A Future Pilot
He left the crashed plane to ride a different plane for three circuits before fleeing the scene.
By Timothy Tuan — 20 Jul 2019, 05:55 PM
A teenager in China flew a red-coloured SeaRey plane in a carpark before crashing it into a traffic barrier
The unnamed 13-year-old from Huzhou City had piloted two different planes in the wee hours of 15 July.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the crash took place at Taihu Lake hangar in Zhejiang province, China.
Prior to the crash, the teenager had been observing staffs repairing and maintaining the planes during the weekend
A CCTV footage showed the boy at the hangar with an electric bike after midnight on Sunday, 14 July before returning the next day to test out the planes.
The teenager dragged the 450kg SeaRey plane from its hangar before manoeuvring it across the carpark.
As he approached the traffic barrier, he tried to make a turn but crashed into it.
However, the teenager left the crashed plane to ride a different plane for three circuits before finally leaving the scene.
Authorities caught the whole incident on CCTV and contacted the boy's parents later in the evening
SCMP reported that the damage the teenager had caused was worth RM4,700.
However, after his parents negotiated with the authorities, the compensation fee for the repair was brought down to only RM1,200.
The incident left an impression on the SeaRey base director, Mr He
This child is truly very smart. We admire him!
"He was able to start the plane without any training, just by observation," Mr He said, adding that a skilled pilot needed at least 30 hours of training to be able to fly it.
"He has a lot of potential! I hope he is able to take some flight courses with us in the future and become a licensed pilot," the director added as reported by Daily Mail.
Mr He, however, shared that he would improve the security of the area to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
