HITE PLAINS, June 22 - The first hint that something was amiss early Wednesday at the Westchester County Airport was the erratic motion of the low-flying Cessna. Confirmation came moments later when security workers approached the aircraft and beer cans fell out of the cabin as the pilot opened the door. It was the denouement of what turned out to be a bizarre airborne caper, one that set county and law enforcement officials into a frenzy of finger-wagging, with a new symptom in Westchester's under-age drinking epidemic and Sept. 11-style alarms over airport security. According to Thomas Belfiore, commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the 20-year-old pilot, Philippe Patricio of Bethel, Conn., stole the airplane from the Danbury Municipal Airport in Connecticut some time after 1:30 a.m. and took two friends, both 16, on a joy ride. Mr. Patricio had taken several flying lessons, but he does not have a pilot's license, Mr. Belfiore said. Low on gas and lost, Mr. Patricio, whose blood-alcohol level, 0.15, was almost twice the legal limit for driving a car, happened to find the county airport even though it was closed because of construction and the runway lights were off. He landed the plane at 4:15 a.m. on a taxiway, with the only light being that of the moon and lights from airport buildings. "There was clearly some internal discussion about his accomplishment, especially after we physically encountered him and saw that he was visibly drunk," Mr. Belfiore said. Mr. Patricio was "belligerent and noncompliant," Mr. Belfiore said, and the officers had to use physical force during his arrest at the airport. He was charged with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest and taken into custody. Initially, Mr. Patricio was also charged with driving while intoxicated for piloting the plane on the taxiway, but prosecutors later withdrew that charge, saying it was not supported by the law. The Westchester County district attorney, Jeanine F. Pirro, said she was considering another charge under the state's general business law, which prohibits flying an airplane while drunk. Criminal possession of stolen property and reckless endangerment, both felonies, carry prison sentences of up to 15 years and 7 years in prison, respectively, Ms. Pirro said. The charge relating to flying an airplane under the influence of alcohol carries a sanction of 90 days in jail, she said. Perhaps the biggest mystery centered on how Mr. Patricio gained access to the Cessna 172 Skyhawk in the first place. Mr. Belfiore said that investigators believed that Mr. Patricio had seven one-hour sessions with Arrow Aviation, the flight school that owns the plane, in November and December. A woman who answered the phone at Arrow, who declined to give her name, said that he had had a lesson from an instructor three years ago. "That was it," she said. "I don't know him. He's never worked here." She added that there were only two sets of keys to the plane, and both were in her possession. The Westchester County executive, Andrew J. Spano, said the incident showed the need for tighter security at small airports like Danbury. Westchester County Airport, northeast of White Plains, requires all planes to be outfitted with boots, or wheel locks. Businesses there must also do criminal background checks on all prospective employees. "No matter how much money we spend on security, we're still vulnerable," Mr. Spano said, adding that the county spends more than $4 million on airport safety. "You can't depend on localities to have the motivation and resources to do this." Ms. Pirro said the episode was a warning. "After all these years of dealing with the issue of under-age drinking, never once did we anticipate the consequences of flying while drunk," she said. "He endangered not just the two 16-year-olds, but an entire residential community."

Often times I wonder why
There's love and hate, theres live or die.
When sickness comes I must decide:
When feelings go, theres suicide.

Originally Posted by sarah_webinc lucky he wasn't shot down

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