A pilot is desperately searching for the person who stole his plane in a caught-on-camera burglary in Torrance.
Anis Pradhan is hoping someone will recognize the individual who was seen on surveillance footage taking off with a trailer that contained his small aircraft the night of Jan. 6. The theft happened at a parking lot on Lockness Avenue near Sepulveda Boulevard.
“I'm heartbroken about it,” Pradhan said. “It's just not an airplane to me, it's my work. I have dedicated all my time into it to put it together so it will be a whole airplane to be flown and teach.”
According to Pradhan, his plane is 22 feet long and 35 feet wide, weighing more than 1,000 pounds. Its wings fold up, allowing it to fit in the trailer where it was stored. The pilot spent 10 years building the aircraft himself and used it to train aspiring pilots.
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“We were going to take it to Nepal for this project where it was a nonprofit organization where we're going to be teaching the unfortunate kids, or underprivileged kids to become a pilot,” Pradhan said.
The theft victim filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division. Anyone who recognizes the thief is asked to contact LAPD at 310-726-7700.
