Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A May Day in January -- Pilot Faking His Death

When that businessman crashed his plane and faked his death, a few things popped into my mind.

First, that there were people that believed Jim Morrison and Elvis faked their deaths. Or that the Beatles covered up for Paul dying.

That was always so weird to me.

And second, that I was driving by that plane that recently crashed near the 805 minutes after it happened.

But boy did this story get weirder and weirder.

When you're a pilot and you're a bit crazy, the world (or the sky, anyway), is your oyster.

There was a guy in Egypt years ago, that took an entire plane down, killing over 200 people on board. It turns out he was suicidal because of problems with his wife.

As a kid, I remember seeing a TV program about D.B. Cooper, the guy that was on a plane and told the flight attendant he was angry about the in-flight movie.

And, he said there were bombs on the plane and they'd go off unless he got money. He got a few hundred thousand dollars, I believe. I don't know, though, if the plane was carrying more money and he knew that, or what.

But, after he collected the money, put it in suitcases, he then put on a parachute and jumped out of the plane.

He was never seen again and people called it the perfect crime.

That was until a few years back when a few kids found a lot of the money in the mountains. And, a few years before that, it was presumed he had died because of where he would've landed, and the distance he would've had to walk in what would've been cold weather.

My friend Tom is a pilot, and he'll take women up when he wants to impress them. I remember a time he hit another planes propeller while coming out of his hangar. That ended up costing him a lot of money, because even though there wasn't damage to either plane, an FAA rule requires that the other planes propeller be replaced, just in case there was damage that wasn't seen.

This businessman had swindled people out of money, his companies were under investigation, his wife filed for divorce, and he skipped a court hearing.

He radioed in and said the windows smashed in and blood was everywhere.

He put the plane on auto-pilot and parachuted out, while his plane crashed into a swamp. Authorities knew he was lying, when there was no blood and the windshield wasn't damaged the way he said.

I saw CNN patting themselves on the back, when this guy was apparently watching their network to see how he was being tracked, after he had gotten a motorcycle out of storage and had sent an email to a friend.

I'm guessing when Elvis faked his death and went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, he didn't send any texts or emails.

And who doesn't know the trick we all learned from bad cinema? When you want to fake your death, you go ask a homeless person to join you for a meal, and then to join you in the plane.

That way, they find a body.

Of course, you pick a homeless person that's your height, and maybe have him shave first.

I'm just sayin'.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Next Article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots

When that businessman crashed his plane and faked his death, a few things popped into my mind.

First, that there were people that believed Jim Morrison and Elvis faked their deaths. Or that the Beatles covered up for Paul dying.

That was always so weird to me.

And second, that I was driving by that plane that recently crashed near the 805 minutes after it happened.

But boy did this story get weirder and weirder.

When you're a pilot and you're a bit crazy, the world (or the sky, anyway), is your oyster.

There was a guy in Egypt years ago, that took an entire plane down, killing over 200 people on board. It turns out he was suicidal because of problems with his wife.

As a kid, I remember seeing a TV program about D.B. Cooper, the guy that was on a plane and told the flight attendant he was angry about the in-flight movie.

And, he said there were bombs on the plane and they'd go off unless he got money. He got a few hundred thousand dollars, I believe. I don't know, though, if the plane was carrying more money and he knew that, or what.

But, after he collected the money, put it in suitcases, he then put on a parachute and jumped out of the plane.

He was never seen again and people called it the perfect crime.

That was until a few years back when a few kids found a lot of the money in the mountains. And, a few years before that, it was presumed he had died because of where he would've landed, and the distance he would've had to walk in what would've been cold weather.

My friend Tom is a pilot, and he'll take women up when he wants to impress them. I remember a time he hit another planes propeller while coming out of his hangar. That ended up costing him a lot of money, because even though there wasn't damage to either plane, an FAA rule requires that the other planes propeller be replaced, just in case there was damage that wasn't seen.

This businessman had swindled people out of money, his companies were under investigation, his wife filed for divorce, and he skipped a court hearing.

He radioed in and said the windows smashed in and blood was everywhere.

He put the plane on auto-pilot and parachuted out, while his plane crashed into a swamp. Authorities knew he was lying, when there was no blood and the windshield wasn't damaged the way he said.

I saw CNN patting themselves on the back, when this guy was apparently watching their network to see how he was being tracked, after he had gotten a motorcycle out of storage and had sent an email to a friend.

I'm guessing when Elvis faked his death and went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, he didn't send any texts or emails.

And who doesn't know the trick we all learned from bad cinema? When you want to fake your death, you go ask a homeless person to join you for a meal, and then to join you in the plane.

That way, they find a body.

Of course, you pick a homeless person that's your height, and maybe have him shave first.

I'm just sayin'.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Super Chargers

Next Article

Party Crashing with the President, Car Crashing with Tiger

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader