Tragic final words of young pilot who ignored air traffic controller’s instructions and crashed plane
A young pilot's last words have been revealed before he crashed and died after stealing a plane from a Texas flight school.
The 23-year-old from North Carolina has been identified as Logan Timothy James, who stole a plane from ATP Flight School at Addison Airport, Texas on Wednesday at 7pm.
Logan had been training at the flight school since the summer, and had dreams of becoming a commercial pilot.
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It has since been stated by the Texas Department of Public Safety that he was allowed to use the Cessna 172 Skyhawk to perform a practice flight manoeuvre, before informing the air traffic controller that he was heading off course.
Authorities say that Logan flew east before heading north to the border of Texas and Oklahoma, crashing into a field near the town of Telephone, Texas.
Logan, who was the only person onboard the plane, was pronounced dead as the scene. It is not clear if he declared an emergency before he crashed.
The reasons behind him flying away and whether the plane was stolen or not are also unclear.
The young pilot's last words were caught on the radio, with the audio being posted by VasAviation.
"I'm climbing up through a few clouds and then just gonna head outside of everything," he began to say.
"And about right now you'll probably realise that I'm not gonna listen to ya'll's instructions and I'm just heading to East Texas.
"I'm going to pull the comm 1 circuit breaker and comm 2 circuit break soon as I unkey the mic," he then said before removing comms from his airplane, being unreachable for air traffic control.
The air traffic controller replied with 'Say again,' and tried to get in touch with James for the next 10 minutes.
The Federal Aviation Administration database showed that the 23-year-old was issued a private pilot certification on December 24.
James' Father has since told media that he had graduated from The University of Texas in Dallas, before describing him as a 'wonderful son, with a gentle and loving spirit'.
ATP Flight School confirmed that the crash happened 'in a remote area', with there being 'no injuries to anyone on the ground'.
They also released a statement saying: "Our thought and prayers are with the pilot's family, loved ones, friends and colleagues,"
The school is currently working with local and federal authorities such as the Addison Police Department, National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the incident.
Topics: US News
Joshua Nair