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Camano Island figures in local aviation ...
again
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May 24, 2012 |
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Pilot Daniel
Bischoff talks to Idaho State Police
corporal Dusty Kralik May 14 after
landing his Cessna aircraft in a wheat
field on District 2 Road. |
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By Mike Weland
For some reason, there seems to be some bad mojo
at work when it comes to the beautiful Camano
Islands, which lie off the Washington coast near
Seattle, and the Boundary County Airport.
One incident involves the theft of an airplane
from the local aiport in 2009. The thief, Colton
Harris-Moore, grew up on the Camano Islands and
began his short-lived but colorful career here,
going on to gain notoriety as "The Barefoot
Bandit."
On Monday, May 14, the pilot of a red and silver
Cessna was making his approach to land at
Boundary County Airport when the engine died
well short of the runway.
The pilot, Daniel Bischoff, managed to bring the
plane to a safe landing deep in a wheat field on
District 2 Road south of the airport, and he and
his passenger, his wife Vivian, were able to
walk away uninjured. After their bit of
excitement here they continued on their trip and
flew to their home ... you guessed it ... on the
Camano Islands.
At 12:05 that sunny Monday morning, a caller
placed a 911 call to sheriff's dispatchers and
reported that a private plane was coming down to
land where it oughtn't.
Expecting the worst, deputies and emergency
responders were dispatched immediately to the
scene and the Idaho State Police notified.
Deputies arriving first on scene were relieved
to see the plane intact and upright, the
Bischoffs outside standing beside it.
He explained that as he was coming in for a
runway landing, but the engine began sputtering
and died, short of the runway but within reach
of the level and unobstructed field. Without
power, he was able to glide the plane down to a
fairly smooth landing.
Instead of EMTs, a mechanic from Northern Air
was summoned and before long the problem was
fixed and the couple back on board and taking
off.
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| The Barefoot
Bandit |
The incident brought back memories. In 2009, a
Cessna airplane valued at $500,000 belonging to
Pat and Ada Gardiner, Porthill, disappeared from
a hanger at the airport in the wee hours of the
morning. It was found later, empty, crash-landed
in a clearcut near Granite Falls, Washington,
with bare footprints leading away.
On July 6, 2010, a federal judge in the U.S.
District Court of Western Washington released an
indictment, originally filed in December, 2009,
officially charging the elusive young man with
interstate transport of stolen property and
grand theft, airplane, as a result of that
theft, and the FBI placed a $10,000 bounty for
information leading to the arrest of Colton
Harris-Moore.
On July 11, 2010, in the Bahamas, police shot
out the engine of a stolen boat in which he was
attempting to flee and the Barefoot Bandit was
captured.
He was sentenced to seven years on multiple
consolidated charges from several states and
early this year he was sentenced to 6 1/2 years
on federal charges, which are running
concurrently with the state sentence.
Before leaving the courtroom for prison,
Harris-Moore told the judge that he plans to
spend his years in prison productively ...
preparing himself to apply for college, where he
plans to study aeronautical engineering. |
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