Pilot of Stolen Cessna Wanted U.S. Fighter Jets to Shoot Him Down

[babylonsister]

Pilot of Stolen Cessna Wanted U.S. Fighter Jets to Shoot Him Down
Trooper Said Yavuz Berke, Now in Custody, Wanted U.S. Military to Kill Him
By LISA STARK, PIERRE THOMAS, LUIS MARTINEZ and SARAH NETTER
April 7, 2009


The Canadian man who led fighter jets on a chase across six states Monday flew his stolen plane into the United States. in hopes the military would shoot him down and kill him, according to a Missouri state trooper who apprehended the rogue pilot.

Missouri state trooper Justin Watson told "Good Morning America" today that 31-year-old Yavuz Berke, formerly known as Adam Leon, wanted to commit suicide, but didn't have the courage to do it himself.

"His idea was to fly the aircraft into the United States where he would be shot down," Watson said. "He stated several times that at any time he thought he was going to be shot down."

And he came close several times, Watson said.

Instead, Berke landed the single-engine Cessna 172 on U.S. Highway 60 in Ellsinore, Mo., at 9:50 p.m. ET. He made his way to a convenience store where a clerk noticed him and called police. He was found drinking Gatorade, seemingly relieved that his ordeal was over.

"He actually seemed fairly happy that it came to a good end," Watson said. "He didn't seem to be down in spirits or anything like that."

The U.S. military decided early on that Berke, a naturalized Canadian citizen who was born in Turkey, did not have any terroristic intentions, but was unclear at the time exactly what his plans were. As he flew over Madison, Wis., the state capitol building was evacuated as a precaution.

more...

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=7275586&page=1?ref=fp7

[liberal N proud]

1. I am surprised they didn't shoot him down

[BobRossi]

2. Chickenshit.

All he had to do was swallow some poison, hell of a lot of trouble for some Gator-Aid.

[Ian David]

6. Gatorade has corn syrup in it. Montel says it IS poison. n/t

[doctor jazz]

3. Evacuated the capitol? Good call, that 1200 pound airplane could have destroyed

an outhouse or a small garage.

[JHB]

4. If he had packed it with explosives it could have done a bit more...

...but I guess he wasn't actually tracking towards the capitol, or else they likely would have shot him down.

[doctor jazz]

7. Nowhere near as much as can be put in a Ryder truck.

:shrug:

[babylonsister]

8. Jesus, can you be any more cynical?

I'm sure if you were anywhere on the ground near where this plane might have crashed, you'd have a different opinion. :eyes:

[doctor jazz]

10. It's a plane that weighs quite a bit less than a Volkswagen.

But if you wish, I can be more cynical! :D

[rrneck]

5. Jeez, what an idiot.

Of all the ways to get somebody to kill you that has got to be the most elaborate and poorly executed. If he wanted the military to shoot him down, why didn't he act like he was going to fly his plane into something?

For that matter, even after he landed, all he had to do is to act like he was going to hold up the store, the guy behind the counter probably would have shot him.

[leftofthedial]

9. didn't the guy notice 9-11?

there will be no fighter planes unless there's a professional golfer aboard.

This is America dammit!

[RamboLiberal]

11. Well that's a new one - suicide by fighter jet n/t

[B o d i]

13. Variation on a theme - suicide by cop nt

[cloudbase]

12. It's really tacky to put the silhouette of

a Cessna on the side of your F-16. You'll never hear the end of it from your squadron mates.

[backscatter712]

14. Get him a shrink and some medication.

He can kiss his piloting days goodbye, and is likely to do some jail time, but on the bright side, nobody got killed.

He's probably not a total psychopath, just some guy that had shit in his life to deal with, a serious case of depression and other mental illness, who went and made a big stupid.

Fortunately for everyone, a fixable stupid.