- A 17-year-old allegedly fled police in a 2008 Ford Mustang and breached an airport fence.
- The Mustang crossed an aircraft apron before hitting a tractor and parked Pilatus PC-12.
- Police charged the teen with DWI, aggravated DWI, reckless driving, and other offenses.
Police chases are just plain dumb. They risk life and limb, and even when those things escape without injury, the prospect for collateral damage is high. That typically involves signs, fences, and maybe the cars of innocent motorists who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. In this case, a teen driver managed to make things a whole lot worse. They hit a tractor and then a multi-million-dollar airplane while running from police.
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Read: SF Airplane Loses Tire In The Air, Crushes Cars In Parking Lot
New Hampshire State Police say a 17-year-old driving a black 2008 Ford Mustang managed exactly that on August 29. The nighttime escape attempt ended inside Portsmouth International Airport, where the Mustang allegedly crashed through a perimeter fence, crossed an aircraft parking apron, and ultimately collided with a parked Pilatus PC-12. Perhaps unsurprisingly, police say alcohol was involved.
From Traffic Stop To Runway
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The incident began at about 8:09 p.m. while troopers were searching for a vehicle connected with crimes reported in other jurisdictions. According to authorities, a trooper spotted the Mustang and attempted to stop it. Rather than pull over, its driver allegedly fled without the car’s headlights illuminated. Things deteriorated rather quickly from there. After entering the airfield, the driver allegedly hit a tractor before hitting the airplane.
Video from the incident shows that the Mustang in question is now well beyond repair. The driver was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for evaluation. Nobody else was injured. Despite the rather dramatic security breach, airport officials said the airfield remained open, and operations weren’t affected. That alone seems strange in a world where plenty of seemingly insignificant things ground planes.
The Pilatus suffered a collapsed left wing and landing gear. PlaneSense, which operated the aircraft, confirmed that it was at the company’s Portsmouth headquarters awaiting routine maintenance when it was struck. Even older examples can represent seven-figure assets, and damage severe enough to involve the wing and landing gear could make this an exceptionally costly crash.
The Charges
Police identified the driver as Wyatt Seely of Rochester, New Hampshire. He faces misdemeanor charges of aggravated DWI, DWI, disobeying a police officer, and conduct after an accident, along with a violation-level reckless-driving charge. He’s scheduled for arraignment in Portsmouth District Court on September 9.
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