Young pilot’s final words are revealed after he disobeyed air traffic controller’s instructions and flew in opposite direction before plummeting onto a Texas field to his death
- Logan Timothy James, 23, crashed a Cessna 172 Skyhawk into a field near Telephone, Texas on Wednesday and died at the scene
- James was given permission to practice a flying maneuver, but decided to fly away in the supposedly stolen plane
- His father said he wanted to be a commercial pilot one day
A pilot’s last words recorded before he crashed and died in a Texas flight school plane.
Logan Timothy James, 23, of Stokesdale, North Carolina, stole a Cessna 172 Skyhawk from the ATP Flight School at Addison Airport on Wednesday around 7 p.m.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said James was allowed to use the plane for a practice flight maneuver, but once he was airborne he informed the air traffic controller that he was “actually going east.”
“I climb through some clouds and then just go outside of everything,” James said, according to the audio recording posted by VasAviation.
“And now you probably realize that I’m not going to listen to your instructions and just go to East Texas.”
Logan Timothy James, 23, crashed a Cessna 172 Skyhawk into a field near Telephone, Texas on Wednesday and died at the scene
Authorities said he then flew east before heading north toward the Texas-Oklahoma border and crashed in a field near Telephone, Texas, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
James was the only person on board, but it is unclear whether he declared an emergency before crashing.
It is also unclear whether the plane was stolen or not, and why exactly he decided to fly away.
Before going radio silent, James also said he would “pull the Comm 1 circuit breaker and the Comm 2 circuit breaker,” before his microphone went dead.
The controller then responded, “Say it again,” as they tried to communicate with James for about ten minutes.
The Federal Aviation Administration database shows James was certified as a private pilot on December 24 Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
James’ father told me CBS News that his son grew up in North Carolina and that he graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas.
His father described him as “a wonderful son, with a gentle and loving spirit” and said he dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot
The plane is seen just before it crashed near the Texas-Oklahoma border
His father also said that James recently started training at flight school in June and dreamed of becoming a commercial pilot.
His father subsequently described him as ‘a wonderful son, with a gentle and loving spirit’.
ATP Flight School told KTVT that the crash “occurred in a remote area and no one was injured on the ground.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the pilot’s family, loved ones, friends and colleagues,” the school’s statement said.
The flight school said they are cooperating with both local and federal authorities as the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and Addison Police Department are currently investigating the incident.
A Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a single-engine, four-seat aircraft that first flew in 1955 and is “ideally designed for instructors, students, and observers alike,” according to Textron Aviation.