Plane circling Mississippi city threatens to crash

Authorities believe the aircraft was stolen and are working to determine whether the pilot threatening to crash the plane is an employee of a local airport

A stolen airplane circled over north Mississippi on Saturday morning, and police said they evacuated a Walmart store after the pilot threatened to crash into it.

The Tupelo Police Department said in a Facebook post that the Walmart and a nearby convenience store had been evacuated. The plane started circling over Tupelo, Mississippi, at about 5 a.m. It was still in the air more than four hours later, but had flown away from Tupelo and was circling over another community nearby.

Police said they have made contact with the pilot directly.

“Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given," the police wrote. “With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.”

Authorities believe the aircraft — a Beechcraft King Air C90A — was stolen and are working to determine whether the pilot threatening to crash the plane is an employee of a local airport, two people briefed on the matter told AP. Multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, are now involved in the investigation and are working to discern a motive, the people said.

Investigators were continuing to monitor the flight’s path and have been in communication with the pilot, the people said.

A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency is aware of the flight and is coordinating with local law enforcement.