From this morning’s Avweb:

John And Martha King Held At Police Gunpoint (Really)

Aviation’s most prominent husband and wife team is calling on government agencies to keep their databases up to date and warning pilots and aircraft owners they could be next to be surrounded by heavily armed police, handcuffed and detained because of a bit of miscommunication. John and Martha King say there’s a lesson to be learned after they spent about 30 scary minutes in the custody of Santa Barbara, Calif., police at the Santa Barbara Airport Saturday. Authorities thought their leased Cessna 172 was a Cessna 150 that had been stolen eight years previously in Texas. The 172, which is owned by Cessna Aircraft, was assigned the N-number of the stolen 150 in 2009, years after the FAA had cancelled that registration on the 150. Apparently no one told the El Paso Intelligence Center, an arm of the Drug Enforcement Agency, and other government departments that keeps tabs on, among other things, flights of stolen aircraft. When the Kings filed IFR for their flight from San Diego to meet friends in Santa Barbara, the local police were alerted to intercept the aircraft when it landed. As Martha King told us in the accompanying podcast, what followed was, in her opinion, unnecessarily dangerous and uncomfortable.

King says they were approached by police prepared for the worst, with guns drawn and others taking cover behind the doors of the four police cars that responded. Although anyone who has met the Kings would describe them as anything but threatening in appearance and demeanor, the police took no chances and maintained their aggressive stance through the ordeal. “I would have thought at that point when they got us out it would have ratcheted down quite a bit because I don’t think we exactly look like your typical airplane thief,” she said. The Kings were not hurt and the airplane was not damaged. The police did not apologize but did justify their actions by saying it was a report that had to be checked out, King said. The Kings said they went public with their experience in hopes that law enforcement agencies will double-check stolen aircraft reports and to warn pilots that there’s a chance their N-number could come up under similar circumstances.

Now what was all that about ‘checking data bases’ and stuff? 

First, there’s the difference between a 150 and 172; should I expect your average cop to know that?  No.  But, the airplane’s been stolen NINE YEARS, and now the thief is stupid enough to file a flight plan (like Osama filling out all that ICE paperwork) to El Paso.

Second there’s the cancelled registration on the 150, as AvWeb points out that nobody told the DEA about.

Lastly, I’m not sure the link will work here so cut and paste or go to AvWeb and listen to the podcast.  Then get ready for LASP II.