Airport staff who stole plane and threatened to crash into Walmart, dies in jail

A Mississippi airport worker who stole a plane in September and threatened to crash into a Walmart store (read here), died in federal prison while awaiting trial, authorities announced on Wednesday (November 16th).

Cory Patterson, 29, was discovered unconscious by guards in a federal prison in Miami on Monday, November 14, four days after arriving at the prison, the US Bureau of Prisons announced.

The office said in a statement: “Responding personnel immediately took lifesaving action. Personnel requested emergency medical services … and rescue efforts continued.”

However, they were unable to save Patterson and he was pronounced dead.

The Bureau of Prisons did not provide a cause of death, but said no other inmates or staff were injured.

Patterson was moved from a Mississippi state prison — where he had been held on grand larceny and terrorism-threatening charges since September — to the federal facility on Thursday, November 10.

Recall that on September 3, Patterson commandeered a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air C90A from Tupelo airport, where he was working on aircraft refueling.

For hours he circled around before threatening to crash into a Walmart.

Patterson had posted what appeared to be a suicide note on Facebook before his trip.

He wrote, “Sorry everyone. I never really meant to hurt anyone. I love my parents and my sister, it’s not your fault. Goodbye.”

However, the Mississippi man landed the plane safely in a soybean field near Ripley, Mississippi, and was arrested as he exited the plane.

An FBI agent said they found a handwritten note apparently on Patterson’s plane, according to court records.

He said he was tired of living and had no intention of hurting anyone.

“I chose Walmart because it would be quick and easy to dump,” Patterson wrote, adding that the chain was owned by billionaires who paid their employees low wages.

He had alerted emergency services of his intention to crash into the Tupelo Walmart during his flight and urged the 911 operator to ensure the store was evacuated.

Police negotiators spoke to Patterson while he was driving the plane and convinced him to land the plane safely, with the help of a private pilot who coached him on how to ‘to land.

He had also been slapped with federal charges of destroying a plane and making threats involving the destruction of a plane, according to court records.