Two Utah teens accusing of stealing small airplane

VERNAL, Utah – Sheriff’s deputies arrested two teenage boys they say stole a small airplane at a private airstrip in rural eastern Utah and flew about 15 miles before landing successfully at Vernal Regional Airport.

The Desert News reported the 14- and 15-year-old boys stole the single-engine Cessna on Thursday from a private airstrip in Jensen along U.S. Highway 40 about 15 miles west of the Colorado line.

The Uintah County sheriff’s office said they left a group home earlier this week and were staying with friends in the Jensen area. They apparently gained access to a tractor and drove to the airstrip, where they took off in the plane and were spotted flying low along US 40 near Gusher.

They were arrested at the airport and being held Thursday at the Split Mountain Youth Detention Center in Vernal.