- Logan Timothy James, 23, crashed a Cessna 172 Skyhawk into a field near Telephone, Texas, on Wednesday and died at the scene
- James was given permission to practice a flight maneuver, but decided to fly away in the supposedly stolen plane
- His father said he wanted to be a commercial pilot one day
A pilot's last words were recorded before he crashed and died in a plane at a Texas flight school.
Logan Timothy James, 23, of Stokesdale, North Carolina, stole a Cessna 172 Skyhawk from the ATP Flight School at Addison Airport on Wednesday around 7 p.m.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said James was allowed to use the plane for a training maneuver, but once in the sky, he told air traffic controllers that he was “actually departing east.”
“I'm climbing up through some clouds and then I'm just going to fly out of everything,” James said, according to an audio recording released by VasAviation.
“And about now you're probably realizing that I'm not going to listen to your instructions and just go to East Texas.”
Logan Timothy James, 23, crashed a Cessna 172 Skyhawk into a field near Telephone, Texas, on Wednesday and died at the scene
Authorities said he then continued flying east before flying north toward the Texas-Oklahoma border and crashing into a field near Telephone, Texas, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
James was the only person on board, but it is unclear whether he declared an emergency before he crashed.
It is also unclear whether the plane was stolen or not and why exactly he decided to fly away.
Before going silent on the radio, James also said that he would “pull the Comm 1 circuit breaker and the Comm 2 circuit breaker” before turning off the microphone.
The traffic controller then replied, “Say it again,” as they tried to communicate with James for about ten minutes.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Federal Aviation Administration database showed that James received a private pilot's license on December 24.
James' father told CBS News that his son grew up in North Carolina and that he graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas.
His father described him as “a wonderful son with a gentle and loving spirit” and said he dreamed of becoming a professional pilot
The plane can be seen near the Texas-Oklahoma border shortly before it crashed
His father also said that James only started training at flight school in June and dreams of becoming a commercial pilot.
His father further described him as “a wonderful son with a gentle and loving spirit.”
ATP Flight School told KTVT that the crash “occurred in a remote area and no one on the ground was injured.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the pilot’s family, loved ones, friends and colleagues,” the school’s statement said.
The flight school said it is cooperating with both local and federal authorities as the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Addison Police Department are currently investigating the incident.
A Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine aircraft that was first flown in 1955 and is “ideally designed for instructors, students and observers,” according to Textron Aviation.