Cops Investigate Jet Burglary; Owner Says $350K Worth of Aviation Gear Missing

Fort Lauderdale police are investigating the burglary of a private jet that the owner of an aircraft leasing company says cost him an estimated $350,000 worth of aviation gear.


James Blackburn, of Premier Aviation Holdings, says a 14-seat, twin-jet Gulfstream was broken into Thursday or Friday while parked on a ramp outside a World Jet hangar at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

"They took radar systems, navigation systems," he said. "Everything that's required to put the bird in the air."

Investigators spent more than two hours collecting fingerprints and other evidence from the damaged plane on Monday.

"They searched the cockpit, searched the plane and took a bunch of evidence away," he said.

Blackburn said he's heard of other aircraft burglaries over the past year and has been hit before.

"We've had some equipment stolen that we didn't report about four months ago," he said.

World Jet general manager Donnie Whittington said the City of Fort Lauderdale provides security and issues gate cards to all those who work at the airport.

"There's thousands of individuals who have gate card access that can just swipe and enter the property," he said. "Things have been stolen at the airport before. It's a rare thing, but it can happen."

Whittington and Blackburn said the Gulfstream needed modifications to its engines to meet federal noise requirements before it could fly.

If a plane appears to be derelict or "in distress," it can make an inviting target for thieves, Whittington said.

But Blackburn says mechanics had been working on his jet's maintenance almost daily for the past month.

"[This burglary is] not going to put us out of business but it's actually disgusting," he said. "I think other pilots and other operators in the area should be made aware that this is happening."

Blackburn said he had been in talks with several people to sell the aircraft but the theft may postpone the deal that was due to close on Wednesday.

Premier Aviation Holdings has been based in Fort Lauderdale for about five years, Blackburn said, and records show World Jet has been operating at the airport since the early 1990s.

(Culled from aviationpros.com)