Yavuz Berke Steals Cessna from Canada; Lands in Missouri

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The Wisconsin Capitol building was evacuated shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, but police did not immediately say why. Police said only that there was an emergency. Many workers had already left for the day. Gov. Jim Doyle was not in the building. He had been in Chicago Monday. Capitol police ordered everyone out of the building and told them to go at least a block away from the building. Police cars with sirens drove on the sidewalks by the doors of the Capitol. Others drove on the streets of the Capitol square, telling people to move away.

What this story fails to specify is that earlier today a Cessna 172 was stolen from a Canadian flight school and was flying over central Wisconsin.

“They believe its one of the students and we’ve been tracking the aircraft since it entered U.S. airspace and we are still tracking it, he is currently over central Wisconsin,” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told BNO News. She said only one person is believed to be on board. Two F-16 fighter jets have since intercepted the aircraft, a spokesman for NORAD confirmed to BNO News. “We believe it is still in the air at this time,” he added.

An example of a Cessna 172

Meanwhile, WSAW-TV is reporting an “incident” at Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee but it is unclear if the incident is related. The channel reported that several ambulances, fire trucks and more than a dozen squad cars from various departments are at the scene. It is unclear if an aircraft crashed. Spokespersons for both NORAD and the FAA said they were checking on the reports.

UPDATE

The pilot of a stolen Cessna has landed off Highway 60 in Missouri and is on the run, NORAD said. The situation at the capitol in Madison is “back to normal”.

UPDATE #2

The pilot landed the single engine Cessna 172 landed on U.S. Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., at approximately 9:50 p.m. ET, and was caught by Missouri State Highway Patrol officers, FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said. The pilot was identified as Yavuz Berke, formerly known as Adam Leon, a 31-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen who was born in Turkey, Kolko said.
Source: ABC News