Federal and local authorities are investigating the theft of a single-engine airplane from the Port of Orcas air field last Wednesday morning, and port commissioners are discussing improved security because of the theft.
“It is really easy to steal a plane when the keys are in it,” Port Commission Chair Garth Eimers said.
“This is a case of that old saw, ‘locks are to keep honest people honest,’ This is not a justification of port security, but if there is a lesson for pilots it has to be don’t leave the keys in your car or your plane.”
As Port of Orcas commissioners met to last week to approve their 2009 budget, airport security became a topic after an attempted break-in at the neighboring Eastsound Sewer and Water District offices and the theft of the Cessna S-182 from a port hangar.
According to Airport Manager Bea vonTobel, the aircraft was stolen from a locked hangar at the port on what they believe was the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 12.
The single-engine aircraft was discovered later that morning in the closed area of the Yakima Nation reservation in eastern Washington.
The plane was reported down in an area known as the Mill Creek Ridge near Satus Peak. The Yakima Herald reported that search volunteers were going to be called out, but that the effort was abandoned once coordinators learned that the Cessna had been stolen.
The plane belongs to KZOK-FM American rock-and-roll radio on-air personality Bob Rivers who lives in Seattle, Wash., authorities said.
Rivers earned his private pilot’s certification in 2002 and participated in Flight Across America as the host of the opening ceremonies and frequently flies in western Washington, according to reports.
There appeared to be forcible entry to the hangar, the sheriff’s office said. They say Rivers was notified after the plane crashed into a hillside at approximately 11 a.m. last Wednesday.
The plane is valued at approximately $175,000.
Detectives in Yakima are investigating the theft in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation and Safety Board and other Yakima County Agencies.
“To my knowledge this is the first time a plane has ever been stolen from Orcas. I have no idea if whoever stole the plane knew the keys were in it,” Eimers said. “My hangar is right across the alley from the one that was stolen and I checked it and it did not seem to have been tampered with.”
Added vonTobel, “Getting into the hanger was relatively easy. Once in, it was even easier to move the aircraft and fly away with it. The plane was damaged on landing. In the picture, it appears the propeller tips were bent and the nose wheel collapsed. It was landed in sagebrush.”
With the attempted break-in at the sewer offices, vonTobel said the commissioners discussed working together “to see if additional security might be warranted and how we would go about it.”
