DALLAS, TX – Tragedy struck in Northeast Texas when a 23-year-old man died after illicitly commandeering a plane from a Dallas flight school and subsequently crashing it in a rural area.
The unfortunate pilot was identified as Logan Timothy James, hailing from Stokesdale, North Carolina. He was found dead at the site of the crash.
The calamitous event unfolded around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, near the Red River in Fannin County, about nine miles northeast of Telephone, Texas. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) confirmed these details.
Preliminary investigations by the DPS suggest that the stolen aircraft, a Cessna 172, had been taken from the ATP Flight School in Addison on Wednesday night. The stolen plane was then flown more than 80 miles northeast, towards Paris.
James was the only individual on board the aircraft during the crash, and no other injuries were reported, as per the investigators.
The investigation into the crash is now being spearheaded by the National Transportation Safety Board, with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, as informed by the DPS.