Plane stolen from Thunder Bay college lands in Missouri

Apilotis in custody aftera single-engine plane was stolenfrom aThunder Bay, Ont., college and landednear a Missouri highway, officials say.

The Cessna 172, whichwas beingtracked by two U.S. fighter jets, landed on a dirt roadin Ellsinore, Mo. The pilot ran away after the plane landed but was apprehended shortly after.

A man named Adam Dylan Leon, 31, was taken into custody, said Sgt. Marty Elmore, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol.

An FBI spokesman said Leon, formerly known as Yavuz Berke, was born in Turkey and became a Canadian citizen last year, CNN reported.

Two F-16 fighters had been dispatched to track the plane, which was taken at about 2:30 p.m.from the Aviation Centre of Excellence at Thunder Bay's Confederation College.

Fighter pilots intercepted the plane at the Michigan-Wisconsin border, saidMike Kucharek, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. He said the plane was flying erratically.

As the planeflewover Madison,Wis., the state capitol building was evacuated shortly after 5 p.m. as a precaution.

Kucharek said the pilot acknowledged seeing the F-16s but refused to communicate with any authorities.

Judi Maundrell, vice-president of Thunder Bay's Confederation College, told radio station CKPR that aperson hopped the fence Monday afternoon and took off on an unauthorized flight inthe Cessna 172.

Maundrell said the collegewas trying to determine whether the pilot was a student there.