After scaring Frankfurt residents, the thief who stole a plane and threatened to crash into a German skyscraper over the weekend was held and questioned by local authorities. Police said the 31-year-old German man — who circled the city’s skyscrapers Sunday for about two hours before landing safely at Frankfurt’s international airport — is apparently mentally disturbed. Because of the man’s specific request to speak with Charles Resnik — brother of the doomed Spaced Shuttle Challenger Astronaut Judith Resnik — prosecutors have weighed his mental state in deciding what charges he will face. Undoubtedly, this incident brought eerie memories of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, to television viewers worldwide. In a strange coincidence, the same day that the German man stole the GA aircraft at gunpoint was also the one-year anniversary of the incident in which a disturbed teenager flew his Cessna into a Tampa, Fla., skyscraper. Julia Bishop — the teenager’s mother — has filed a $70 million lawsuit against the maker of the acne medication Accutane (which at one point listed suicidal ideation on its warning label) that her son was taking before the crash.
Police Question German Plane Thief
Key Takeaways:
- A mentally disturbed 31-year-old German man stole a plane, threatened to crash into a Frankfurt skyscraper, and was arrested after landing safely following two hours of circling.
- Prosecutors are considering the man's mental state and his request to speak with Charles Resnik in determining charges.
- The incident evoked memories of 9/11 and coincided with the one-year anniversary of a similar event in Tampa, where a disturbed teenager flew a Cessna into a skyscraper.
- The mother of the Tampa pilot, who was taking the acne medication Accutane, has filed a $70 million lawsuit against its maker, citing suicidal ideation as a potential side effect.
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