Plane Stolen From Palo Alto Lands On Peninsula Beach, Man Arrested

PALO ALTO, CA — A Florida man was arrested Thursday after authorities allege he stole a small plane from an airport in Palo Alto and ditched the aircraft on a beach in Half Moon Bay.

According to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, a 911 caller reported a plane landing in the sand south of Poplar Beach around 5 p.m. Thursday. Deputies found the plane "intact and unoccupied" on the beach, and soon found a man that matched the description of a person seen walking away from the landing, officials said.

Investigators determined the aircraft was taken from Palo Alto, and the deputies will work with police there to investigate how the plane was taken.

The sheriff's office identified the suspect Thursday as Luiz Gustavo Aires, 50, of Miami. He was arrested and booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of theft of an airplane.