A man was arrested and charged with stealing a small airplane and crashing it in Atlantic County, according to a spokesperson with the New Jersey State Police. The man is also facing charges in connection to two other robberies in the city where he crash-landed.
Troopers said they were called to the area of Main Street in Corbin City, New Jersey, just before 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7 for reports of a man who seemed suspicious and walking out of the woods.
When they got there, troopers found the man walking along Route 50 near the 300 block of Main Street, officials said.
The man told them he crashed his plane in a field near where he was seen walking but refused to tell them his name, troopers said. They arrested him for obstruction.
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As the troopers investigated, they found that the Pemberton Police Department had arrested the same man, identified as 42-year-old Robert Wagner, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, officials explained.
Officers with the Pemberton Police Department told the troopers Wagner had stolen a Quad City Ultralight Challenger 2 Plane from the Pemberton Hangar the day before on Tuesday, Aug. 6, officials said.
The registration of the plane matched the stolen aircraft located in the field in Corbin City, according to New Jersey State Police. Records show the plane is registered to a man who lives in Monmouth County.
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Troopers said that they also discovered that Wagner was connected to two other robberies in Corbin City.
Wagner ultimately confessed to the two burglaries and to stealing the plane, troopers said.
He is charged with criminal contempt, criminal trespass, theft, obstruction and other related charges.
Locals react to suspicious pilot
People who live in the area of Corbin City told NBC10 that they didn't even know the plane had gone down until they ran into the pilot, who was barefoot, on Wednesday.
"I approached the guy walking out of the field, asked him what he was doing," Nick Franklin said.
Franklin never could have predicted how bizarre the barefooted man's story would be.
"He said to me that he crashed his plane, and he's been there for two days since the weather went bad," Franklin explained.
The plane had crashed in a field that belonged to Kristofer Surran's family farm.
"We're in and out of here all the time. I didn't see a plane here yesterday," Surran said.
Meanwhile, Matt Franklin told NBC10 that the apartment above the gas station that he owns was among the places robbed by the pilot of the stolen plane.
The guys at the gas station also found the tools, they say, belonged to the pilot were plugged into the outlets in the back room.
"He was charging them. Trying to fix his aircraft to get back going. He said he was waiting for the weather to clear so he could take off again," Franklin said.
The investigation into this incident remains ongoing, according to the New Jersey State Police.
