Hangar Broken Into

[PilotMikeTX]

A couple of days ago I got a call from my friend who is also my IA mechanic telling me that the lock had been cut off my hangar and was missing. He thought I had moved so he looked inside and saw my airplane and that is when he called me and then the sheriff. It turns out all of my tools, my toolbox, air compressor, polisher/buffer and who knows what other miscellaneous stuff was stolen. It turns out they also went inside my plane and ripped off my chart bag (which had my VHF handheld in it) and a Perrone leather uniform jacket that I kept in the back seat. None of my headsets or handheld GPS were missing though.

A couple of months ago my mechanic had his shop broken into and the dirtbags really cleaned him out. They emptied most of his tools into 35 gallon trash cans and loaded them up on a flatbed gooseneck trailer and drove off with all of it. Luckily they managed to not damage any aircraft in his shop or my hangar. We have a pretty good idea of who it was. It seems the airport owner thinks it's perfectly acceptable to rent hangars to white-trash race car dirtbags and other toothless meth freaks for use as shops and/or storage units. Now I know not all race car people are mouth breathing mullets (my old chief pilot had a couple of drag cars), but since I'm usually at the airport on weekday afternoons there are only 3 other people that I see on a regular basis when I'm at my hangar and only one is not a pilot. Also my hangar was definitely cased, as there are six units on my row and I'm the only one who has any tools or shop equipment in them, so it had to have been someone who had seen me working on my plane or seen the contents of my hangar when the door was open.

I grew up on airports and I always considered them pretty much free from petty crime. (We did have a couple of disputes that ended in guns being drawn, but nobody ever stole from anyone else.) The sheriff investigator says there is a lot more theft due to the economy (but you have to wonder who is buying the stolen goods?) So here are some common sense tips that you can do to protect yourself:

1. If you use a padlock, use a hardened steel disc-type lock (the round kind where the gate is mostly hidden in the case). These are apparently harder to get a bolt cutter on. I had a pretty heavy duty Master lock, but it obviously was no match. I may also install a hasp and a second lock.

2. Secure your tools inside a locking toolbox...and lock it. Mine was of course unlocked, but they just took the whole damn thing anyway. So IF I decide to store tools at the hangar again, I plan on using a steel cable and disc lock to secure my toolbox and compressor to a steel girt. If they really want something, they'll get it, but it doesn't have to be easy for them.

3. Engrave your tools, and write down serial numbers. The detective kept asking me if there was any way to identify my stuff, and he kept shaking his head when I kept answering "I'd recognize it if I saw it." That won't keep your stuff from getting ripped off, but it might make it easier to recover.

4. And it seems now we need to keep our planes locked while hangared. These guys weren't airplane or avionics thieves luckily, but if they were...

5. Lighting might have helped as well. My hangar row only has one vapor light at the end and it happened to be burned out (or maybe it was busted out by the dirtbags.) All I know is the area in front of my hangar was the darkest place on the airport.

FYI, I'm at Airpark East (1F7), east of the DFW metroplex, so I'd be particularly careful if anyone is at the Rockwall, Terrell, or Mesquite airports or any of the smaller private fields in the area.

[hilltop170]

Man, that hurts! Any of us that keep our planes at a public airport are probably vulnerable as well. I know my rented hangar could be broken into by a child, the lock tabs are only held on by two 1/8" pop rivits. I used to leave my 170 unlocked when it was in a shade T-hangar because I thought if someone really wanted in, they would just knock out a window or pry open the door with a tire iron. I am lucky I guess, no one has ever broken in.

If you kept the plane at your house, at least the Castle Doctrine would kick in (in Texas anyway) if you caught them and felt threatened.

[DWood]

Maybe a dumb question but is that a Federal crime since I assume it is on a commercial airport?

[W.J.Langholz]

Horace and Daniel could help also


W.

[170C]

PilotMike---what a lousy thing to have happen! Sorry for your loss. I often wonder about mine & other hangars at my airport. Lot of hangars with lots of tools & equipment. There is onsite security and I have only heard of one theft and of all things it was a engine driven towbar that was attached to the owner's plane outside his hangar while he was working on his motorhome inside his hangar one night. Had to be a brave thief! These airports need security gates that won't open from the inside without a card. The pressure gates leave a lot to be desired. Hope you will be able to recover some or all your stuff. Check out the local pawn shops.

[flyguy]

So many times you wish the creeps could be caught in the act and no one around to stop the victim from putting several .357 holes in their worthless bodies. Man I am so sorry for your loss. Hope they can catch the worthless $h|t$.

Those of you who know my hangar know it ain't even "remotely" secure with stuff sitting all over the place. But my big tool box is an old 2 ton box truck with secure door lockers and a big brass padlock. It sits right behind my hangar and I had guns, tools and misc. stuff stored in there. Early one morning a neighbor called and advised me that he had seen a small white car with the trunk open, parked near my hangar. He wondered if I was missing anything. I went up to the hangar and sure enough the big brass lock had been busted and the truck ransacked. The guns and tools were gone. The neighbor guy said that he recognized the car so when our deputies arrived to make the report, they knew right away where to go. These meth heads were known thieves, and as soon as the Officers had the list of my missing in their hands, they went straight to where these guys lived to investigate.

Surprise! Surprise ! ! Some of my stuff was still in the trunk d of the car. But here is the stupidest thing - one of the creeps had pawned some of the tools and still had the pawn tickets in his wallet ! ! I got some of the stuff back. What I had listed that wasn't returned was charged to the perps as restitution items. Two of them were sentenced to the state prison, plus - they had to pay a set amount of restitution per month. I heard their mother was paying me the money while they sat in the slammer.

At that time there were no guns recovered. Several months later I got another call from the Sheriffs office telling me another person had called and advised them that two of the perps, out on probation, were loading some guns out of an old abandoned car near their house. Quick action by the Sheriff's Department caught them loading a couple of my guns plus a couple of others also listed as stolen, into the trunk of a stolen car. I didn't know it at the time, but when stolen firearms get listed on NCIC, the possession of one of those listed firearms, if arrested, prosecuted and convicted, becomes a felony federal offence. Sadly, (maybe not) one of those boys is now serving time in a federal prison and another in state pen for grand theft auto.

A great side benefit is that since those incidents and the convictions, stealing and burglary in this area dropped to near zero for several years... Guess the idiots got the word huh?

[GAHorn]

Those cheap disc-locks are the best ones you can get! They cost less than anything else, and if anyone tries to cut them with a bolt-cutter all it does is "mash" the innards together and permanently jam the lock in the locked position. Also, there's insufficient room alongside the shackle to cut it there. What a great lock!
I've got an acquaintance who is retired from the airlines. He invested in local storage-sheds. He GIVES each tenant one of the locks. He says that when his other storage-properties were burglarized,...the theives drove down the row with a truck and bolt cutters and cut every lock on the premises......EXCEPT the disc-locks which they knew to be too much trouble! Even the CHEAPEST disc-locks are better than anything else! It makes no difference whatsoever what brand you select. The cheapest is as good as the most expensive.

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Meanwhile...if you own/rent/borrow a hangar.... be aware that true security is likely a figment of your imagination. Any fool with an electric screwgun and a 5/16 hex-head nutdriver can remove the screws from your hangar wall and within 2 or 3 minutes have an opening as large as he wishes thru which to remove anything he likes.

There's nothing to suggest that having additional security-devices is not a good idea. I knew a gun-dealer in Austin who was robbed three years in a row...until he put a sign in the storefront that warned about the pet rattlesnake which was loose in the store.

[cessna170bdriver]

Horace and Daniel could help also


W.

I suspected I knew what you meant, but I had to go to wikipedia to verify it. The only problem is that that method requires the thieves to be caught in the act.

I'm not going to get too excited about upgrading my lock and hasp until I can afford to upgrade the walls to something other than light gauge sheet metal. A few years ago thieves simply snipped a hole in the back of the KTSP airport manager's hangar and cleaned him out.

Miles

[cfzxo]

Sorry to hear about your hangar loss.
I had a similar thing happen to me. I know that it is not always possible but I installed a phone line, This allowed me to put in a simple security system,which consists of two heat sensors, a loud siren and a dialer which calls the house first then my cell phone if there is an breach. prior to that I had nothing except a couple of mouse squealers which plug into the outlets,to keep the mice away. Well they managed to pry open a hole large enough to stick there heads in, it being dark inside all they saw was the little red lites from the anti-mouse gizmo's. I can tell you that they also work on the two legged rat Not to press my luck I beefed up my security. My hangar and strip is 2 miles from the house but still on the property. This makes it a mixed blessing when it comes to snow removal This past summer I had my excavator, gravel truck and skid-steer parked beside the hangar as I was landscaping etc. Well they broke into the equipment and stole everything, tools, fire extinguishers etc. but stayed away from the hangar. I think a wildlife camera mounted in the right place would probably take care of it. The fifty cent solution would be the cheaper answer for the crackheads that were involved.

Bill

[GAHorn]

Here's a security/anti-theft idea plagiarized from a neighbor I used to have when I lived in-town: He had a gun-safe installed in a closet of his new home....but with a difference, since he'd learned of a fellow whose safe was stolen by theives who used a chain-saw to cut thru his home's outer-wall directly into the bldg and drove off with the entire safe.

So he had workmen install common chain-link fencing inside the walls of his new home. I'm thinking that an R-panel bldg would also benefit from that sort of construction, expecially if the fencing were installed prior to internal insulation being put up. Probably only necessary to put the fencing along the lower areas of the walls.

[Kyle Wolfe]

George, I like the chain link fencing idea!

When I built my gun room in my house I had two walls that are exposed - the other two are brick. I drilled holes in the 2x4 studs parallel to the floor and inserted a number of rebar rods. I put them at random heights. I did that for the same reason. I thought it would slow down the guys with chain saws and at least make them mad!

X10 makes some simple and inexpensive alarm systems. I've used them where there is a phone line and also where there is not a phone line. Lights and sirens have kept people out of several building of mine over the years. http://www.x10.com/security/wireless_systems.html

[PilotMikeTX]

A little update: No dirtbags caught...yet. I've been told there is no deductible on my homeowner's for theft, but I need to make another call to USAA to make sure my stuff is covered. If it won't jack up my rate it might be worth getting my stuff replaced.

I found a disc lock that would fit the door...had to get a big Master lock that is more rectangular shaped but it's the same principle and has a deeper throat. At any rate, the plane is for sale (not entirely related to this) and I'll probably be moving it into my IA's hangar so he can make it available for inspection since I'll be out of the country for most of the year.

It's already starting to bug me that I need stuff that is missing. And it's not the big items, either, it's the little stuff like my stash of crush washers, zip ties, or my mini screwdrivers that I got out of the dollar bin at Northern. Grrrrr.

Oh, and I found out that the "modern" Craftsman toolboxes are crap. Even the ball bearing ones are flimsy, made in Thailand junk. Ugh.

[Blue4]

Sorry you're deploying, Mike. Be careful with USAA: one claim and your rates will spike. I still use them, but with caution. (couldn't rhyme it the 3rd time)

[counsellj]

Mike,

I wouldn't worry about USAA treating you poorly or raising your rates. 18 years and a few claims myself, plus several friends with them and we have always been extremely happy with them. It's unfortunate that it sounds like Blue4 has not experienced the same great service from them.

Jughead

[GAHorn]

I don't understand worrying about premium increases due to claims history which involve only one event. That's why insurance is purchased.
Anyone paying insurance premiums who do not plan to collect on legitimate claims is operating like a gambler at Vegas refusing to collect his winnings. The ins. co. learning of the loss already has the information upon which they will base future premiums, regardless of whether pay-out occurs.