# Stolen Canadian aircraft in US **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241 "2009-04-07T11:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/41 "2009-04-08T18:49:13Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Could a Cessna 172 cause some serious damage? Yes, potentially it could. But your average car bomb can carry more explosives and, with a straight-away, can go almost as fast into the side of a building. That’s one reason carbombs are more common than airplanebombs (there are others, of course). Personally, I worry a lot more about someone stealing one of those tanker-trucks full of gasoline than I worry about small Cessnas crashing into buildings. The tanker truck would do a hell of a lot more damage. It’s not about the big bang. It’s about fear and vulnerability. Once that manifests itself, the population will do their own damage to themselves far above and beyond some explosives in a small plane or a hijacked full tanker truck. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/42 "2009-04-08T19:15:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If he was able to get up to 14,000 feet the airplane did NOT have 500 lbs of _anything_ on board! Right. I think the discussion of overloading an aircraft was hypothetical and not intended to imply that this 172 was. > [@](#): > > … there’s only so much you can load inside before it simply won’t get off the ground at all. But, given favorable takeoff conditions (cool day, long runway, decent headwind) that load may be considerable. Consider that a C-172 at max gross weight has no trouble doing a 40-degree banked turn, and that in such a turn the wings must generate lift equal to 130% of the plane’s weight. > [@](#): > > … that thing is going to be wallowing through the air. This can be avoided by flying faster. Compared to a correctly loaded airplane, the ratio of the airspeed necessary for the same amount of control will be the square root of the weight ratio. This is, of course, the same ratio that will apply to stall, takeoff and landing speeds (IAS). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/43 "2009-04-08T19:19:08Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Hmmm. Now the only question is, should I use my powers for good or evil…? 🆒 E-vile. Remember, Evil is cool, and Good is dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/44 "2009-04-08T22:54:27Z")
In Canada, psychiatric bills are covered though our socialized health care. To keep our taxes down, we have to find ways to offload medical costs. One way is to ship patients to the USA, as was done with this fellow. Confederation College gets lots of promotion for its aviation program and gets its plane back. Ontario reduces its ongoing medical costs now that the nut is safely locked up the the USA. NORAD and Air National Guards from three states get to flex their muscles. Everyone’s happy. Well, except for the fellow who stole the plane. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/45 "2009-04-08T23:29:46Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > To keep our taxes down, we have to find ways to offload medical costs. Logical. Flawlessly logical. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/46 "2009-04-09T00:21:54Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Everyone’s happy. Well, except for the fellow who stole the plane. Hey, he had his 15 minutes of fame. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/47 "2009-04-09T05:06:42Z")
> **[Civil Air Patrol](https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/)** > > Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We're volunteers serving America's communities, saving lives, and shaping futures. So, it turns out that the Air Force pilots involved were in fact trained for almost exactly this sort of situation. It seems that one of the services provided by the Civil Air Patrol (the US Air Force civilian auxiliary) is acting as teaching aids for training pilots in how to intercept slow, low flying civilian aircraft. The type of aircraft most typically used by the Civil Air Patrol is the Cessna 172. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/48 "2009-04-09T14:20:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I’ve seen a video of a military jet passing a Tri-Pacer head-on and it did nothing. I’m sure that in that case no one had any intention of causing harm. Also, the Tri-Pacer would have to cross the wake of the jet, and the wake is not some 360 forcefield. When I see small/large airplane fly-bys the small plane usually (though not always) passes over the larger, which would allow it to completely avoid the wake even when flying in close proximity. The way extends _behind_ and _below_ the airplane and is of limited size, and thus is avoidable if you are aware of it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241/49 "2009-04-09T14:28:45Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Well, let’s see. What if he had explosives on board, it was mid July and the Brewers were playing to a sold out crowd at Miller Field? That little Cessna crashing into a stadium filled with 41,000 souls could do quite a bit of damage. After all, it passed over the Wisconsin Capitol and the F-16s did nothing. The Wisconsin capital building had been evacuated and thus even if the airplane had crashed into and done anything more than flattened itself again the building and maybe scratched up the siding, there was no risk of any person coming to harm other than the pilot. > [@](#): > > Now, allow me to adjust my tinfoil hat. He’s a sleeper. His job was to probe air defenses crossing from Canada across the border into the US. What was learned? It’s possible it can be done, you will be watched, **but nothing will be done about it**. He’s hardly the first to cross the border in a small airplane without permission. Student pilots near the border get lost every so often and wind up on the wrong side. Some idiot think he can cross it without being noticed. This has been happening for decades. Since the vast majority aren’t criminals or terrorists - just lost or jerks - the first impulse is to follow them until they land and can be dealt with in a non-violent manner rather than simply shooting to kill. > [@](#): > > Seems to me that the next time this happens, the ultimate result will not be landing on a county road, popping into a local store and waiting to be caught. What do you think will happen? There just isn’t that much a Cessna 172 can do to cause destruction. An _airliner_ crossing without permission will, I assure you, attract much more aggressive attention because a big Boeing or Airbus IS a threat, as we all now know. > [@](#): > > Of course, the next time it happens, pick the border crossing with Washington, Idaho or northwest Montana. Stay below the ridge lines and one can penetrate deep into America before being caught. The drug planes do it all the time. Yes, but mostly down by Mexico and they have beefed up border observation so it’s a lot harder for them and they’re switching to methods like homemade submarines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stolen-canadian-aircraft-in-us/492241.md?page=2)