Thieving Scum
 

Some dirty **** has nicked my life raft out of my C172!!!

It was parked at an airport which is totaly secure. You cannot get on the the airport grounds with out a pass which gets checked by the barrier gaurd.

And you cannot get airside with out an airside pass which you have to swipe through another barrier.

So the scum bag that nicked it probably parks his plane next to mine!!!

I am fecking livid!! I am waiting to see if the airfield CCTV covers the spot where I was parked.

What options do I have if the Scum was not caught on CCTV?

I dont really think there is much you can do,

Also wasnt your plane locked

Someone might have seen him nosing about :rolleyes:

It wasnt locked no. Reasons being:

1) It's a secure airfield, visitors park on the other side of the airfield (literally).

2) Ground Op's move the aircraft in to wind whenever it changes direction.

3) I park on the police part of the members apron

Not good
 

Sorry to hear about that matey , some tossers deserve shooting . On a professional level , realistically unless someone has seen something , which is doubtful otherwise you might have thought they would have said something you are on a sticky wicket . The CCTv may yield somehting but in the main it is usually a waste of time , fuzzy long distance pictures and thefts that take place in the dark. also the advent of the hoody makes this a less than valuable resource . Ensure you do report it to the police , although they will probably be unable to help without any witnesses they will give it a crime number which your ins company will probably insist on . Unfortunately and without wishing to spark an anti police debate we cannot work miracles so no witnesses no real case . Although might i suggest you have a look at the movements list at your airfield say a week either side of the theft and just see if any of the local aircraft have done an overwater flight and cross refer that to those aircraft that park near to you this might yield something . Obviously if you are based at a coastal airfield this might no be very good but worth a look , but if nothing else report it and make sure other aircraft users at the field are aware of this thieving shxtbags existence .

That sucks. On a semi-related point, what's the best place to acquire a life raft, and about how much do they cost? What about regular life jackets?

maxdrypower,
Thanks for the poointers. Hopefuly I will get some CCTV footage. Even if it only shows the direction the idiot came from and the time I should be able to tally that with the movement list and narrow the search down.



Tim Dawson,
4 man life raft costs about £800 and jackets start at about £50. Most aviation suppliers will sell them.

Transair
AFE
blah blah blah.

Maybe the thief knew you had a liferaft. Anyone ask you lately if you have a liferaft.

Trust no one!!

And please, do lock up in the future!!

No one asked if I had a raft.

Obviously I will lock up in the future. I always do when I am away at a different airfield. Like I say the security at my airfield is excedingly tight which points it's fingers to someone who is based at the airfield and has access to that specific apron, which requires two passes a gaurd check and a tagged barrier.

I have never heard of theiving between pilots though.

I expect there's one on ebay just right now.

Oh Gertrude there is always someone around to bring a smile to my face:) it was only a matter of time until someone said it.

Could this be an insider job, meaning somebody, who works at the airfield?
I would not blame it on fellow pilots.

I had my Elevator control locks stolen once but later found out that it was taken by airfield staff.

Seriously though, the following sequence, whilst by no means guaranteed, is not unknown:

(1) something gets stolen
(2) the victim searches for and finds it on ebay
(3) the perps get nicked.

Get another one, but time-expired. Drill some holes in it. Then pray it gets knicked and the buggers who have it, need to use it. Scratch one set of miscreants!

PM

Do you have a serial number or something else that uniquely identifies it as *your* raft? In that case it might be useful to report the theft to the producer and possibly some outfits in your local area that service liferafts. Perhaps in the future somebody will come along to register it, or have it serviced. At the very least that gets flagged then. Hopefully.

Also, if the liferaft contained an EPIRB, ELT, whatever, might be useful to inform the SAR authorities that it was stolen so they don't come knocking on your door as soon as they receive a signal from that one. Preferably you want them to come knocking only once they've found the thieves (in distress - serves them right!).

Keeping an eye out on eBay and other auction sites, and perhaps the notice boards on flying clubs in the area, does seem like a good idea too. Aviation liferafts are not the typical items that thieves keep for themselves, unless it indeed happens to be stolen by a fellow pilot. Also, the thief may not know that an aviation liferaft is different from a marine liferaft, and might try to offer it for sale at marine clubs.

Lastly, check *all* your insurance policies, including your home insurance. Home insurance, at least where I live, covers certain items outside your house too. At least that what we found out when my parents' car got stolen: the car insurance covered the car itself, but the home insurance covered the few items that happened to be in the car at that time, and that could normally be expected to be kept in the car instead of in the house. Nothing major, things like a fire extinguisher, jump start cables, towrope and such. Perhaps a life raft would be covered under this category too. (On the other hand, if there's no clear sign of breaking and entering, ie. damage to the plane, you have a weak case.)

Im sorry for your loss, lets hope the cctv gets a result,I know this is after the horse has bolted ! however, its really worth while, " defacing " any stealable items, with your post code, in HUGE letters, very very visible,

Best of luck. Have him tried in Saudi Arabia if you catch him! most single Cessnas are pathetically easy to break into. A Swiss Army knife in the right hands will get in with no marks on the plane. Beware, and don't leave valuables in at all! But is was not me, I'm on the other side of the Atlantic...

Best of luck. With his, he'll probably need the raft one day!

Pilot DAR

Does the liferaft have a serial number ? Find out, let the police know, and post notices all over the airfield with the info.

You never know, you might get someone who might know something tipping the wink.

Where were special branch when you need them.........

The special branch office is leterlally where I parked my plane!! which incidentally is right next to the Police helicopter!!