heli-cal
6th Jun 2011, 05:54
DALLAS - Police see reports about stolen pickups all the time. Stolen trailers? Sure. But very few have stolen helicopters on the trailer beds.
Fort Worth police issued an alert for a missing 2002 Bell Helicopter Model 430 Thursday night.
Early Friday morning, Dallas police found out about a chopper parked at the Century Inn in the 2100 block of Northwest Highway, near Loop 12.
One look at the aircraft's tail number told them it was the stolen chopper they'd been looking for. They called a tow truck operator to take the helicopter and trailer away.
"It took about 45 minutes to an hour just to get it worked out of the parking lot and onto the road," said Gary Hatfield with Brad's Towing Service. "Every time I go out on a tow, it's a surprise. I don't know what's gonna top this one."
The rotary aircraft drew quite a bit of attention at the Dallas police impound lot, even at 4 a.m. Several officers took photos with their cell phones.
The helicopter alone is worth $2.5 million.
So, how did the chopper go missing in the first place?
According to a Fort Worth police report, a man in Colleyville sold the helicopter to a company in Pennsylvania and hired a driver on May 19 to deliver it. By June 1 that driver had stopped answering his phone and failed to show up at expected locations, so the seller contacted police.
The driver told police he couldn't deliver the aircraft because he got sick. He likely won't face charges, they said.
News report, Here (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/060311-Stolen-Chopper-Found-at-Dallas-Motel).
http://media2.myfoxdfw.com//photo/2011/06/03/stolenchopper1_20110603072505_640_480.JPG http://media2.myfoxdfw.com//photo/2011/06/03/stolenchopper2_20110603072505_640_480.JPG
Fort Worth police issued an alert for a missing 2002 Bell Helicopter Model 430 Thursday night.
Early Friday morning, Dallas police found out about a chopper parked at the Century Inn in the 2100 block of Northwest Highway, near Loop 12.
One look at the aircraft's tail number told them it was the stolen chopper they'd been looking for. They called a tow truck operator to take the helicopter and trailer away.
"It took about 45 minutes to an hour just to get it worked out of the parking lot and onto the road," said Gary Hatfield with Brad's Towing Service. "Every time I go out on a tow, it's a surprise. I don't know what's gonna top this one."
The rotary aircraft drew quite a bit of attention at the Dallas police impound lot, even at 4 a.m. Several officers took photos with their cell phones.
The helicopter alone is worth $2.5 million.
So, how did the chopper go missing in the first place?
According to a Fort Worth police report, a man in Colleyville sold the helicopter to a company in Pennsylvania and hired a driver on May 19 to deliver it. By June 1 that driver had stopped answering his phone and failed to show up at expected locations, so the seller contacted police.
The driver told police he couldn't deliver the aircraft because he got sick. He likely won't face charges, they said.
News report, Here (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/060311-Stolen-Chopper-Found-at-Dallas-Motel).
http://media2.myfoxdfw.com//photo/2011/06/03/stolenchopper1_20110603072505_640_480.JPG http://media2.myfoxdfw.com//photo/2011/06/03/stolenchopper2_20110603072505_640_480.JPG