Edmonton, AB, Canada – Thieves have taken off with pieces of history, dealing another blow to the Alberta Aviation Museum.
The Boeing 737’s emergency hatch and other parts were stolen, but thieves trashed the plane, to make the crime look like vandalism.
Tom Henderks said someone did planning and took time to carry out the theft at the Villeneuve Airport. They entered through the left emergency hatch — not something obvious.
“It appears they tried to mask the theft by making a heck of a mess in the airplane,” Henderks said.
While the theft is still under investigation, they know more than one person was involved and that they had to have some aviation knowledge.
“It breaks down to someone who was trophy hunting or looking for other items,” Henderks said, noting some of the parts had been pulled out of place and checked for expiry dates.
It’s the type of thing seen in third-world countries — not in Western Canada — due to a lack of traceability in parts.
Henderks said the RCMP discovered things he didn’t catch, despite his knowledge of the aircraft.
The airplane flew out of city centre airport last November and while it was not intended to be flown remained fully operational.
Since the incident, they’ve bumped up security.
Read more here: http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/08/25/airplane-parts-stolen-from-alberta-aviation-museum?token=c5c48bb86b1be083c2a2e922a7fbacbc