The Man Who Stole a Plane Whilst Drunk and Landed in Manhattan Street... Twice

    In 1956, for a bet whilst drunk, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole a small plane from New Jersey and then landed it perfectly on a narrow Manhattan street in front of the bar he had been drinking at. Then, two years later, he did it again after a man didn’t believe he had done it the first time.

    There have been many magnificent plane landings that have been widely reported, such as the US Airways jetliner that successfully landed on the Hudson River in 2009, saving all on board from disaster.

    Not so well known is the landing of one man who, in 1956, made a surprise landing in a different kind of place, for a very different kind of reason.

    After a bet at a Manhattan bar that he couldn't get back from New Jersey in 15 minutes, an intoxicated Thomas Fitzpatrick reportedly stole a single-engine plane from an aeronautics school in New Jersey and landed it right in front of the bar where he'd been drinking on St. Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan.

    Fitzpatrick successfully pulled off the risky stint on the narrow landing area whilst drunk. One would think that once would be enough to tell your kids about, but Fitzpatrick ended up doing almost same thing two years later after a night of drinking.

    Both times he was charged with wrongdoing.

    Do you like this fact?

    75

    References