Airport worker ‘steals King Air plane and threatens to fly it into Tupelo Walmart’ before crash landing in field

AN airport worker has been arrested after allegedly stealing a small plane and threatening to crash it into a Walmart after posting a chilling 'goodbye' message on Facebook.

Cory Patterson of Mississippi eventually landed in a field after he almost ran out of fuel while flying around Tupelo for five hours, cops said.

Shortly before the crash landing, Patterson left a chilling goodbye message to his family on Facebook.

The post - which has since been deleted - read: "Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn’t your fault. Goodbye."

Police said that Patterson also had contact with family members during his five-hour flight and that they cooperated with officials.

Benton County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the plane landed safely and Patterson had been taken into custody without force.

He has been charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats and will likely face federal charges, Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka said.

Patterson allegedly stole a Beechcraft King Air 90 around 5.08am on Saturday and started circling over Tupelo.

He worked for Tupelo Aviation fueling aircraft for 10 years but was not believed to be a licensed pilot.

Patterson did, however, have some flight instruction, according to the police.

The authorities claimed that at around 5.23am, Patterson threatened to deliberately crash into the Walmart in Tupelo.

The flight pattern was shown to be erratic over Tupelo, but the aircraft was then seen heading north circling around Ripley Airport.

The tank was filled the night before, but it only holds five hours of fuel and authorities believe the plane was dangerously close to running out.

After making contact with Patterson, the Tupelo Police Department was able to convince him not to carry out his threat and to land the aircraft at Tupelo Airport, according to authorities.

Since Patterson didn't have experience landing a plane, a private pilot assisted the police in helping Patterson, but the approach wasn't completed and the police lost connection.

Eventually, at 10.12am, police were able to regain connection and Patterson confirmed that he had landed and that he wasn't injured.

He landed in a field between Ashlynn and Ripley, with the plane still intact, however, there was noticeable damage to the aircraft.

Mayor Todd Jordan said: "I believe that you know, after the initial threat he did not want to hurt himself or anyone else and I believe that we had what you would think would be the best case scenario."

The Walmart, a nearby Dodge car dealership, and entire neighborhoods were reportedly evacuated in Tupelo because of the incident.

A Twitter user said: "My parents' neighborhood is being evacuated."

A spokesman for Walmart said: "The store is currently closed and evacuated," during the incident.

"We’re working closely with local investigators and are referring questions to law enforcement."

Governor Tate Reeves made a statement on Twitter: "State law enforcement and emergency managers are closely tracking this dangerous situation.

"All citizens should be on alert and aware of updates from the Tupelo Police Department."

The motivation for Patterson's alleged crimes is unknown at this time.

Flight Aware reported that the plane was owned by Southeast Aviation LLC.

This King Air plane has a speed of 206 mph and an altitude of 1,100 feet.