Aircraft theft?

I like the cable lock around the prop hub. Also, door locks that work (I know they're pretty hokey). And, the decal stating that all avionics is engraved and registered.
 
How long ago hat Bonanza stolen ?
I can not imagine with current monitoring and threats etc anything flying around here without being noticed
 
FloridaPilot said:
Hello,

At my local airport (48X). There is a problem with Avionics being stolen out of Aircraft that are tied down outside. What can pilots do to prevent this from happening? Is there an alarm system or some sort of security system for GA airplanes? If not there should be. This is rural Florida and not many people around to notice anything.
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Installed or portable avionics?
 
Fearless Tower said:
Isn't that SOP for post flight on the Citation anyway?

All the operators I fly with disconnect the battery after flight, even at home base.
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I never did unless I was going to be away for a while or in a "less secure area" I think in Gulfport MS after 9/11 they required two different types of anti-theft, so locked door and disconnect battery.
 
N747JB said:
I never did unless I was going to be away for a while or in a "less secure area" I think in Gulfport MS after 9/11 they required two different types of anti-theft, so locked door and disconnect battery.
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We do, but it's precaution against something on the hot battery bus being accidentally left on and draining the battery. Sure there was the directive after 9/11, but anyone who is able to fly the airplane away probably also knows how to reconnect the battery...
 
Have you seen some of the questions down in the Maintenance forum here? :D
 
Everskyward said:
We do, but it's precaution against something on the hot battery bus being accidentally left on and draining the battery. Sure there was the directive after 9/11, but anyone who is able to fly the airplane away probably also knows how to reconnect the battery...
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That's kind of how I figured it!
 
FloridaPilot said:
Where are you from?
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I lived all over, all up and down the west coast, GA, Canada, overseas, etc.

But now that I'm semi settled down, bought a house, Im proud to call the north country home.
 
James331 said:
I lived all over, all up and down the west coast, GA, Canada, overseas, etc.

But now that I'm semi settled down, bought a house, Im proud to call the north country home.
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Awesome! but I'm sure the, (In your words) Cesspools and Subhumans are there too. If not, it's only a matter of time.
 
That's the beauty of it, I live in a very cold and inhospitable place, we are filled with outdoors folks and hunters who are...old school in their thinking and rather well armed, not that it would make a difference as any gang banger would crash on our snow covered roads and freeze to death. We also have near zero homeless, again freeze and death fix that, plus there is a huge city down south which subsides unemployed and criminals.

Biggest threat to me is hitting a deer.
 
What about motion sensor, battery driven floodlights? I have one I bought for our cabin, it runs on four AA batteries, and claims 400 hours.
Completely self contained, could make a small attachment or some way to let it (inside or outside the plane) be mounted when not using, which would turn on a light when someone came within 15 feet of the plane any time it was dark.
Cameras are fine, IF the police are willing to review the footage, etc. but it is still after the loss. Seems to me that many would be thieves do not like bright lights shining on them and the ones that would go ahead anyway....would go ahead anyway.

Also, I get the feeling any thief approaching an airplane where the lights suddenly come on would assume camera also, and know they had a good chance to walk away since they hadn't done anything illegal yet. just a thought.
 
Unit74 said:
I'm glad you prefaced " in my experience" because 99% of cops are good people and if you called for a report and had pictures of the perp, you can bet they would care a whole lot.
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The police really don't want to investigate. I have several police relatives that were really peeved that a smash and grab that occurred to me in Austin last year wasn't investigated further. I had the location and the perps name 15 minutes after (he left the ipad and computer he stole on and even logged into Windows Messenger using his real name).

Unit74 said:
Killing a guy on a property crime might be a sticky situation, right or wrong. Saw a first 48 where they kept jacking a dudes car steroes. Like, the third time he caught them and stabbed one. They charged him with murder. That was TX too......
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I'd like to see a link to this ... you probably have the wrong state. There might have been a civil case, but Texas is a huge property rights state, Castle law, etc.
 
Look it up. First 48 Episodes. Dallas Tx. Hispanic male, stabbed, newborn baby, stile his car stereo....he was killed about a year later.
 
LongRoadBob said:
What about motion sensor, battery driven floodlights? I have one I bought for our cabin, it runs on four AA batteries, and claims 400 hours.
Completely self contained, could make a small attachment or some way to let it (inside or outside the plane) be mounted when not using, which would turn on a light when someone came within 15 feet of the plane any time it was dark.
Cameras are fine, IF the police are willing to review the footage, etc. but it is still after the loss. Seems to me that many would be thieves do not like bright lights shining on them and the ones that would go ahead anyway....would go ahead anyway.

Also, I get the feeling any thief approaching an airplane where the lights suddenly come on would assume camera also, and know they had a good chance to walk away since they hadn't done anything illegal yet. just a thought.
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How do you keep critters from setting it off?

I imagine the local Norwegian cops would start to ignore the 500th moose call.
 
Does insurance cover theft of avionics? What kind of insurance is it?
 
How about a portable sonic motion sensor that has an ear piercing alarm when activated, left in the cabin? That could be enough to cause the perps. to flee. I had one a long time ago, wonder if they are still available?
 
MAKG1 said:
How do you keep critters from setting it off?

I imagine the local Norwegian cops would start to ignore the 500th moose call.
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:) the cops don't even show up on the first one. It's different here than in the US. Had instances like where a coin operated car wash owner who kept getting robbed staked out the place, called them with the perps in sight, they said they didn't have any extra cars to send...

Mainly just mentioning a light coming in spooks less agressive theives, so worth a try. They don't like being in the light and never know if someone caught that the light came on. Many would assume camera also if light, so..
 
Unit74 said:
It's why I left Cali after 35 years. Only once I was gone did I realize what I was missing. Freedom, peace, decency, democracy.
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Calif. has TOO MUCH democracy with all those ballot propositions! :rolleyes1:
 
We are 20 miles from the airport and have really cold winters (MN) so have been considering a solution for remote starting and maybe some security. I've been thinking the following:

Remote Heater And IP Camera:
- ($50) Internet hotspot (+$10/month to cellular bill)
- ($100) Samsung SmartThings Hub 2nd Generation (we have one for home, really like it)
- ($20) Access point (to bridge wired hub wifi hotspot)
- ($40) Z-Wave 120VAC power strip/switch for tannis
- $210 + $10/month

To Add Security:
- ($50) Z-Wave motion sensor in the hangar
- ($30) Z-Wave wireless door sensor or motion sensor in the plane
- ($80) Cheapo outdoor IP Security camera mounted up high with DDNS built in.

The trick would be to get the hotspot, hub and access point and their wall warts in a enclosure so they can stay warm enough while still getting 3G/4G with the door closed - and bolt it to the wall! The Z-Wave is great for long distance and the batteries really last a long time. We're on our 3rd winter and our (unheated) garage door sensors still have original batteries after 1000's of cycles. The app is plenty good with alarms, txt messaging, etc.

Not so sure about the security. I think the camera would be nice to just "check" on the plane. The motion and door sensors will tell you someone was there but not stop them.

That panel lock thing though - with a good lock and in plain sight should deter 9 of 10 thieves.
 
The best lock in the world only serves to keep an honest man honest. The one hell bent to get in and steal something, will.
When I was renting, I was instructed to never lock the doors on the airplane, because the damage done by forced entry cost more than the stolen radios.
 
motion sensor in the hangar with a loud noisemaker than goes off for 10 minutes . . .
 
they make mini GPS trackers today - but it's not really the answer - if the area is that insecure that people can repeatedly steal the equipment that would be a bigger concern to me. Otherwise special security screw hardware or a cockpit cover so that can't see what you have, IDK.
 
Video surveillance. Then you have some proof. Not that it will catch them for sure. But it helps.
 
Sinistar said:
We are 20 miles from the airport and have really cold winters (MN) so have been considering a solution for remote starting and maybe some security. I've been thinking the following:

Remote Heater And IP Camera:
- ($50) Internet hotspot (+$10/month to cellular bill)
- ($100) Samsung SmartThings Hub 2nd Generation (we have one for home, really like it)
- ($20) Access point (to bridge wired hub wifi hotspot)
- ($40) Z-Wave 120VAC power strip/switch for tannis
- $210 + $10/month

To Add Security:
- ($50) Z-Wave motion sensor in the hangar
- ($30) Z-Wave wireless door sensor or motion sensor in the plane
- ($80) Cheapo outdoor IP Security camera mounted up high with DDNS built in.

The trick would be to get the hotspot, hub and access point and their wall warts in a enclosure so they can stay warm enough while still getting 3G/4G with the door closed - and bolt it to the wall! The Z-Wave is great for long distance and the batteries really last a long time. We're on our 3rd winter and our (unheated) garage door sensors still have original batteries after 1000's of cycles. The app is plenty good with alarms, txt messaging, etc.

Not so sure about the security. I think the camera would be nice to just "check" on the plane. The motion and door sensors will tell you someone was there but not stop them.

That panel lock thing though - with a good lock and in plain sight should deter 9 of 10 thieves.
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I still think that having a most ion sensor light is a really good idea, inside and out.
For one thing, when you drive up at night it would also turn on and help light your way to the hangar, same with inside as soon as you step in it lights up.

There is no one thing that can stop all thievery, but I am very sure a good number of them HATE getting lit up while they are trying to sneak around, even if in a remote area, it makes them nervous and gives them the idea there is more security, probably cameras. That means cameras can go from after the fact to actually prevention.
Would also set up signs to the effect that it is camera surveillance.

It does sound like a great idea to be able to remotely check the hangar!
 
My favorite theft story so far is the guys who stole the plane from a maintenance hangar, fired it up then discovered at full speed at the end of the runway that the elevators had been removed.
 
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