New Skylane Stolen From Locked Hangar

Maybe Harry Houdini has come back as an airplane thief. Vincent MacLeod III was planning to get himself current again on his $300,000 2002 Cessna 182T on Nov. 20 but when he unlocked the double padlocked door to his hangar at El Monte Airport in California, it was empty. Police told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that there was no sign of forced entry. Airport Manager Rafael Herrera told the newspaper that rumors circulating at the airport that former airport employees still had keys to the hangars were not true. Whoever took the plane was also careful to take all its logs. Complicating the investigation is the fact that MacLeod hadn’t seen the plane since August before he took off on an extended trip to Europe. There’s no indication of when the plane was stolen. As a matter of policy, the theft was reported to the local Terrorism Early Warning Group. “It could be used for all sorts of purposes,” McLeod said. “It’s a brand new plane. I want my plane back.” The plane is (was?) white with grey-and-white stripes with tail number N184TA and anyone who knows anything about it is asked to call El Monte police at 626-580-2176.