Two Men Flee After Trying To Buy Crop-duster

It could be viewed as an awfully suspicious incident, an elaborate hoax, or a simple misunderstanding, but the community of Beverly, Mass., is buzzing over the attempt by two men to buy a crop-duster at the local airport. It’s being taken seriously enough that the Massachusetts State Police are investigating the incident, which occurred Feb. 11. The police won’t talk about it but witnesses claim the men, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, went to Aviators of New England and asked the owner if they could buy the ag plane parked outside. When questioned by the flight school’s owner, Richard Little, the men jumped in a pickup truck with Massachusetts plates and left the airport. Little then called the police. While their accents and ethnic origin raised some initial concerns, airport operators were more alarmed by their desire to buy an agricultural aircraft, because hardly any crop-dusting goes on in New England The owner of the airplane — who wasn’t at the airport at the time of the incident — told local media outlets the plane has been converted for use as a banner-tower and all the spray equipment has been removed. Some at the airport are apparently taking the tale with a grain of salt. They told a Salem newspaper the lack of specific information points to an elaborate hoax or, perhaps, a simple misunderstanding.