Stolen plane believed to have crashed into Gulf

A stolen plane was allowed to be airborne for 4 hrs without a single fighter being scrambled?

Good point...makes you wonder.

I am not a ral pilot, I fly a MS Flight Sim X. I know this much, don't fly into the Gulf without knowing where you are going. 400 miles in not very far in the Gulf. This guy was not to smart. I'm sure he is shark food.

errior I'm not a real pilot sorry

Well, the stolen plane and no fighter scramble makes one wonder. The article also says fuel capacity was 4.5 hrs or 460 miles and that is measured with no resistance at all I believe. 1/2 hour and/or 60 miles over what happened is not much. Probably ran out of fuel and is shark food

I'm sorry, but the headline "stolen plane that is believed to have crash in gulf" is not gramatically correct. It sound's as if an idiot wrote it.

Wonder what was goin through his head for 4 hours before it got quiet

Well, some initially talked suicide, but if it was he was having problems with it himself by going that far, or else he mad a bad miscalculation on fuel.

I don't think he is dead. I think he is either smuggling people or drugs. If the bandit wanted the everyone to think he was dead, and he succeeded what would it look like? This. This is probably part 1 of a terror plot or drug smuggle or something mischievous.

but he was the student at the airport, not just some random plane with a mysterious person that stole it. They know who it is

And the article said he was a licensed pilot waiting on an instructor so obviously going or pretending to go for an upgrade. Ya'll are probably right. More to this story than what is being told.

Wooow. 600 ft in 3 minues!? They are making that seem likes its such a dramatic fall. Are you kidding me?

Yeah that is kinda slow, compared to a rapid decomp at FL300 and getting under 10 in a couple.LOL

Why are they making such a big deal about the plane descending 600 ft in 3 minutes? It's not like that is a fast descent by any means. A regular approach is typically 500 ft per minute.

I do believe this guy was trying to disappear.......there was probably a boat out in the gulf ready to pick him up. Especially doing this in broad daylight. I feel sure he must have turned off the ELT prior to putting it in drink.....it doesn't pass the smell test. There was another guy that tried the same disappearing act over the panhandle of Florida last year .......with a parachute.....but the plane crashed short of the Gulf......he forgot about the altitude hold mode.....he was a dumbass and stupid. He was caught! As soon as he exited the rear door...the plane pitch down, because now the CG went forward. Aerodynamics 101.
Some people do the dumbest things!

hi PJ
how did that Piper Meridian pilot over the FL panhandle trim the aircraft for level flight, from the rear of the aircraft?
did he trim the aircraft for level flight from the left seat, and then move to the back of the aircraft, which would have moved the cg aft and put the aircraft in a climb?
after he departed the aircraft's rear door, the theory that the cg moved forward and put the aircraft in a descent, wouldn't the descent have increased the airspeed?
when the airspeed increases, what happens to the nose of the aircraft? doesn't it pitch up, not down?
How does the CG shift theory correspond to the actual cause of the aircraft's fate: fuel. "The plane crashed four hours later in the Florida panhandle, apparently after running out of fuel."
Rather than a forward CG bringing the aircraft down, doesn't it appear it remained level at 3,800 msl for over 200 miles without pilot and only missed the assumed objective of disappearing in the Gulf waters, due to inadequate fuel?
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N428DC
- Aerodynamics 201

Do you think that Schrenker in N428DC, a PA-43, was able to close his exit door or would have the open door have added to the drag, thence reducing range?

Good point Mike.......I believe he set the autopilot on altitude hold....or maybe he thought he did....had the airspeed slowed so he could exit the aircraft thru the door @ the left rear so as to not hit the tail on the way out. When the CG shifted full forward....the autopilot disengaged and started its a slow airspeed descent.....the aircraft was not out fuel when it struck terra firma. His intention was to have the plane make it to the gulf....it almost did. The plane was fairly intact......it could have been a somewhat survivable accident. Bad planning on his part.

Fenelon......I believe he landed the plane in the water.......then boarded a boat.

many thanks PJ, very helpful. It makes sense that Schrenker's intention was for N428DC to disappear in the Gulf waters. Absent any remains, there would be no evidence that he was not onboard, and it could be assumed he persished in the disappearance. Radar track indicates, it nearly made it.
For the Cherokee out of Jack Edwards Airport, the disappearance into the Gulf waters appears to have succeeded.
So sad that desparation leads to tragedy with such attempts at illegal or fraudulent actions.

It is what it is Mike.......he had a plan for whatever reason....Sad......