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Hangar Theft

Tankerpilot75

Well Known Member
Last week the lock on my hangar was cut and all my tools and spare small recurring parts bins (screws, nuts, electrical connectors, etc) were stolen. I’ve been at this airport over five years without one single of theft occurring. Unfortunately my hangar wasn’t the only one broken into that night. Several others experienced equal or greater losses. No airport cameras. The city is now going to install a basic camera system by the gates I’m told.

There have been a series of hangar break-ins at several nearby OKC airports recently so hopefully the police will eventually catch these folks. My loss estimate is nearly $4,000. This sucks !

My home is almost an hour’s drive to the El Reno Airport. Now I have to have to load up the car with the tools I need and hopefully bring ALL the correct tools for the job. I’ve lost more than the valve of the tools and supplies stolen, I’ve lost faith in the ability to keep things safe at the airport.

Interesting side note: they took my extension cords but left one old cheap extension cord and plugged it into my old boom box and refrigerator to keep them working. I guess they didn’t want my old junk and thought cold water was important.

Thankfully they didn’t bother the RV.
 
Well, that is an unfortunate thing that a lot of humans like to do. If you have internet, you can have a camera with a motion detector that automatically sends you a notification if someone is IN or at the door of the hangar, or however you set it up. It is petty theft and those tools will end up at the pawnshop most likely. Don’t forget to put a sticker «* smile you are on camera*»

I stopped having my stuff stolen since I have those deterrent. Again, if someone really want in, they will get in. In most cases, they are looking for quick cash and low value therefore no jail time.
 
Ach, that's horrible. I used to have a recurring nightmare about that when I was building my plane in my poorly secured garage. Thankfully those went away once I got it to a hangar.

I have a good deadbolt and lock system on my hangar, and Arlo cameras inside. I've also used Wyze cameras elsewhere. Definitely worthwhile for my peace of mind -- after all, the infamous "barefoot bandit" was known to have come through here on his airplane-stealing spree a few years back :eek:

The Arlo cameras are kind of expensive, and use batteries not hard-wired (I got a battery - AC adapter for that reason), and are somewhat unreliable in my experience, but the free plan for cloud storage of clips is pretty good. Wyze cameras are a lot less expensive and I like the hard-wired AC, and the upgrade to a good monthly cloud plan is quite cheap.

With either of these you'd need internet of course but if it isn't available one of those WiFi hotspot things would do it.

Arlos also come with a sticker to put on your door, and maybe invest in a "Area under video surveillance" as a deterrent.

I know for you that's kind of a "closing the barn door after the horse has left" type of thing, but for me doing stuff like that at least makes me feel like I'm doing something. And perhaps this will inspire others in the area to do so (and maybe even catch these creeps).
 
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That sucks man. No other way to say it. Sorry you have to go through this.
As things progress I think we would all be interested to know how/if any of this is covered by insurance.
 
hangar break-in

I totally feel your pain. My hangar was broken into (I'm a renter) and they broke the locks on the doors to the hangar, tool room and lounge. The thieves weren't very bright because they stole nothing. The door was replaced by a super heavy security door but, more important, we now have a Ring security camera and motion detector installed. You, being an hour away, would need monitoring but I'm much closer and can be there in a few minutes. It's worth a thought. I get a message on my phone and an audible alert. I can look at the camera and see what's going on and it tells me when it gets armed or disarmed. Oh, and I can call police if I need to. Peace of mind is priceless. Anyway, just a thought.
Good luck
danny
 
Game camera

If nothing else, get a decent game camera and stick it somewhere so you could at least get footage of any criminal activity. We had a string of break ins years ago and wifi not on the airport. It's a horrible feeling and on just glad your plane wasnt damaged. At our field the rookie crooks stole a golf cart and hit a T6 stabilizer in the process. I hate a theif!
 
Hi Jim,

The same thing happened to me many years ago. My aircraft insurance covered the headset and handheld radio stolen from the plane. I had a friend who used to work in the insurance business and he told me to check with my homeowners insurance on the the tools and other items. I was very surprised but State Farm did cover all but my deductible on the rest of it. The airport security cameras did not pick up any useful video. I also started using a trail cam in the hangar. Not the best solution perhaps, but if you don't have wifi access, its better than nothing. I monitored ebay and pawn shops for a year or two but nothing ever showed up.

Be sure and make a police report if you haven't. It helped me get the insurance coverage. I also had to have proof of ownership. Fortunately, I had kept the tool receipts for warranty purposes, and had pictures of some of the other items.

Joe
 
I'd recommend cameras as well. Our former home was burglarized about 10 years ago. I found out about it when I got home and saw the side door kicked in and a bunch of stuff missing. I called the police, who dispatched an officer, who arrived in about 15 minutes. I asked the officer later about alarm systems, and he asked me "How long did it take me to get here after you called the dispatcher? Fifteen minutes? If you had an alarm system, it would take me at least that long to respond to its call. A good burglar crew can be in and out in less than five minutes."

He told me the best chance of stopping it is to have cameras visible in the areas around entrances and windows--if it doesn't stop a burglar, it at least will provide video evidence for an investigation.
 
Unfortunetly crimes of opportunity are very common. Security cameras, alarms, locks ect are really only gunna catch the 'honest' thieves, the ones that ain't too bright!
Fact of life sadly -(
 
A good reminder to make and keep updated an inventory of your tools. I know I have receipts for some of them but I know I didn't keep receipts for all of them. Some of the best tools I have were received as gifts or bought at flea markets... Some are literally irreplaceable.

If nothing else, take a photo of each drawer in your toolbox, and a photo of each small parts bin along with an overview photo showing where they are normally stored. Proof of possession can be adequate proof of ownership to the right insurer.
 
Thanks for your comments

I appreciate everyone’s comments. I’m in the process of filing a claim with USAA but my deductible is $1,000 and they won’t cover anything aircraft specific. Global said they might work with me on a few aircraft specific items but I’m not sure a claim there is worth it for the few dollars it would recover. I just moved from AIG to Global last spring and I’d hate to have a small value claim impact my renewal.

WiFi cameras and monitoring is not an option. Very poor coverage at my hangar. I will check into a trail camera and see what they cost.

I hate thieves and am beginning to think pawn shops are a big part of the problem too! With out a ready buyer this type of theft would be less prevalent.
 
eBay and craigslist are the modern fences. Our airport just had 3 430’s stolen last week at the flight school. We can all do our part by asking questions when purchasing avionics or equipment. If the price is to good to be true it’s probably stolen.
 
Great advice all around. We have cameras, motion detector lights and a couple of dogs. The idea of signs are great as well as a current inventory of items. Please document your items with videos or photos.

Truly, if someone wants to get in they will. Hope for the best and plan for the worst is all you can do.


I am sorry this happen.
 
Sorry to hear about your loss.

There is a company called Wyze that sells a cheap camera that has a SIM card for data. I don’t have any experience with that particular model, but it is cheap enough you might give it a try. Their WiFi model works very well.
 
I have a Verizon MiFi and a Ring camera at the hangar. It works pretty good. I half to throw a towel over it when I’m there working or it constantly sends alerts about hangar activity.
 
You folks with hangers that have internet available and allow you to change or add additional door locks are fortunate. We have no internet where I am at and the door locks are what management supplies. They want access to your hanger 24/7 for various reasons. I have been thinking about installing an outside security camera, and then a hidden one inside. The outside one MIGHT deter a thief, but if it doesn't, the one inside may capture an image of him/her. Our power gate to the hanger area has been so problematic that its now left in the open position. My hanger rent is so cheap that I do not complain.
 
You folks with hangers that have internet available and allow you to change or add additional door locks are fortunate. We have no internet where I am at and the door locks are what management supplies. They want access to your hanger 24/7 for various reasons. I have been thinking about installing an outside security camera, and then a hidden one inside. The outside one MIGHT deter a thief, but if it doesn't, the one inside may capture an image of him/her. Our power gate to the hanger area has been so problematic that its now left in the open position. My hanger rent is so cheap that I do not complain.

My MiFi from Verizon costs about $20/month which provides WiFi service within the hangar. My Ring camera service is bundled in the alarm service at the house, so it doesn’t have an additional service fee. It sits in the back of the hangar and has a clear view of the door. Even if the thief steals the camera, their photo is already stored in the cloud by the time they get to the back of the hangar.

Actually my primary reason was to let me know when anyone from the city or airport staff enters the hangar when I’m not around.

I can get a view from my cell, ipad, tv, echo show, and several other devices. It won’t stop a theft, but the police will appreciate the video you can provide. Although the ring camera does have two way audio. Yelling remotely might scare a thief off.

I also use an Amazon power plug to turn on and off my engine heater remotely via the MiFi too. It works pretty good. I like it much better than a Switchbox, which the 4G version gave me nothing but issues.
 
Thanks for the info Bob. I will look into the Verizon MiFi for sure. I am getting paranoid that someone is going to clean me out one day. Lots of meth heads in the county I hanger at, and the airport is in city limits where a lot of them live. All the years I have hangered and the amount of time I spend there, I only seen a PO cruise by once checking things out. If we had an airport in the city I worked for, I would have set up a mini precinct!:)
:D
My MiFi from Verizon costs about $20/month which provides WiFi service within the hangar. My Ring camera service is bundled in the alarm service at the house, so it doesn’t have an additional service fee. It sits in the back of the hangar and has a clear view of the door. Even if the thief steals the camera, their photo is already stored in the cloud by the time they get to the back of the hangar.

Actually my primary reason was to let me know when anyone from the city or airport staff enters the hangar when I’m not around.

I can get a view from my cell, ipad, tv, echo show, and several other devices. It won’t stop a theft, but the police will appreciate the video you can provide. Although the ring camera does have two way audio. Yelling remotely might scare a thief off.

I also use an Amazon power plug to turn on and off my engine heater remotely via the MiFi too. It works pretty good. I like it much better than a Switchbox, which the 4G version gave me nothing but issues.
thank
 
eBay and craigslist are the modern fences. Our airport just had 3 430’s stolen last week at the flight school. We can all do our part by asking questions when purchasing avionics or equipment. If the price is to good to be true it’s probably stolen.

I remember years ago talking to a radio shop owner once. To give you an idea how long ago it was, the Bendix/King Silver Crown radios were just becoming all the rage. Anyway, the guy at the radio shop told the story where a thief had gone to aircraft A, stolen the radios by slipping them out of the rack, then walked over to aircraft B that had the same radios and replaced the aircraft B radios with the stolen radios from aircraft A. Owner of aircraft A reports stolen radios while Owner of aircraft B has no clue something is amiss. Thief sells aircraft B radios and everything looks OK because the actual owner of the radios hasn't reported them as stolen. It was only discovered when the owner of aircraft B had some radio work done and when they pulled the units from the racks the N number for aircraft A was written on the radio cases. Since they were all form the same field they started to figure it out.
 
I remember years ago talking to a radio shop owner once. To give you an idea how long ago it was, the Bendix/King Silver Crown radios were just becoming all the rage. Anyway, the guy at the radio shop told the story where a thief had gone to aircraft A, stolen the radios by slipping them out of the rack, then walked over to aircraft B that had the same radios and replaced the aircraft B radios with the stolen radios from aircraft A. Owner of aircraft A reports stolen radios while Owner of aircraft B has no clue something is amiss. Thief sells aircraft B radios and everything looks OK because the actual owner of the radios hasn't reported them as stolen. It was only discovered when the owner of aircraft B had some radio work done and when they pulled the units from the racks the N number for aircraft A was written on the radio cases. Since they were all form the same field they started to figure it out.

Same thing on the field where I was in a flying club before I got sucked into the world of RVs. :) This time, it was Garmin 430s. Steal the unit from A, put it in B, sell the B radio and A reports his stolen, and the report now has the S/N for A. I don't think they ever caught who was doing it, but one of our guys saw a plane with all lights off departing late at night, a day before some were reported stolen.

Glad I'm in a very secure hangar on a secure field.
 
Crooks don’t like lights. Motion sensing lights , alarms, cameras, signs, or whatever you can use will help.
Don’t be afraid of using your insurance. Why have it. You can always shop around and get another company. The rate my be lower anyways.
 
eBay and craigslist are the modern fences. Our airport just had 3 430’s stolen last week at the flight school. We can all do our part by asking questions when purchasing avionics or equipment. If the price is to good to be true it’s probably stolen.
This is always good advice, but sadly the crooks are wise to it. It's rare to see them sold for well under the going price, just because it attracts attention.

If you want to be sure it's not stolen, ask the seller for a photo of the serial number. A crook won't give it up because you'll find him out. A legit seller won't have anything to hide.
 
Another quick thought about insurance claims... You can accumulate a surprising amount of money over years in tools and supplies; a simple solution I do, is to have one file folder at home, that all the invoices and receipts go in.

Then once a year, the file folder gets emptied into the lock-box at the bank. That way should there ever be a home fire or other similar loss, I've got my proof of all my purchases, which will be needed when it comes to the insurance company. Not relevant for hangar theft, but for those building at home still, might help in case of a disaster. That was a tip from a friend that processes home claims as a job at a major insurance carrier.

Lance
 
This is always good advice, but sadly the crooks are wise to it. It's rare to see them sold for well under the going price, just because it attracts attention.

If you want to be sure it's not stolen, ask the seller for a photo of the serial number. A crook won't give it up because you'll find him out. A legit seller won't have anything to hide.

I always ask for the serial number and the N number of the aircraft it was removed from and if they are the registered owner. Usually never hear back!
G
 
theft of a hangar

While I'm sad to hear that someone lost their stuff to theft, the subject had me wondering how someone could steal a hangar - that would have been one heck of an operation!

I really hope I never catch a thief in the act - I'll probably be sent to prison myself for a long time. I really hate those guys.
 
While I'm sad to hear that someone lost their stuff to theft, the subject had me wondering how someone could steal a hangar - that would have been one heck of an operation!

I really hope I never catch a thief in the act - I'll probably be sent to prison myself for a long time. I really hate those guys.

Attempt at humor not funny!
 
and put a $20 bill in a frame on the wall near the camera. Thieves can't resist it and you get a nice shot of their face.

"My First $20" or some similar sappy saying.
 
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