Warning to Pilots Flying to Western Mexico and Baja California
Before you fly into Western Mexico or Baja California, read and heed this warning from the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute (ACPI) about the sharp increase in aircraft thefts in the region.
According to the AviationCrime Prevention Institute (ACPI), there has been a sharp upturnin aircraft thefts and associated violence in western Mexico andBaja California. In March, ACPI reported that threeMexican-registered aircraft were stolen in one week alone. OneCessna 402 pilot was approached by a gunman, shot dead and thrownoff the aircraft. A Cessna 206 pilot was also forced out of hisaircraft by gunmen.
On February 16, 1997, race car driver Bobby Unser's 1976Cessna TU206, tail number N500BU, was stolen in San Carlos, BajaCalifornia, Mexico. The aircraft has a Robertson STOL kit andoversized tires and wheel fairings. It was painted red, white andblue with "Bobby Unser" logos on both sides.
ACPI says that the worst areas are Baja, Sonora, Oaxaca,Guerrero and Sinaloa, and that flying into remote areas can beextremely dangerous, especially for pilots of Cessna 206, 207 and210 models. Landing at unattended or unsecured airports andlanding strips in these areas is asking for trouble. Pilots areadvised to confine their operations to populated areas withattended airports.
Since late in 1996, drug traffickers have been stealingaircraft from these areas of Mexico, sometimes using deadly forceto do so. According to informed sources in law enforcement andprofessionals working in the area, short field capable (STOL)aircraft are preferred by the traffickers for hauling harvestedmarijuana from staging areas in the Sierra Madre Mountains todistribution points in other parts of Mexico.
Aircraft equipped with anti-theft devices should be warnedthat the last aircraft stolen in Mexico had a prop lock andthrottle lock installed. The owner reported that the thievesremoved this devices and was gone within 15 minutes.
