California man who landed plane twice on island naval base pleads guilty to charges

Audio By Carbonatix

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man who illegally landed his small aircraft on a naval base twice and stole a Navy truck has pled guilty to federal charges, officials said.

Andrew Kyle White, 37, pleaded guilty to a felony count of theft of government property and illegal entry into a naval installation.

The San Diego man first flew a Glastar airplane — a home-built kit airplane popular among hobbyists — to San Clemente Island in October 2023 and landed on a U.S. Navy airstrip without permission.

The wind-swept island, part of Naval Base Coronado, is off the Pacific coast about 65 miles (100 miles) northwest of San Diego and is the southernmost of California's Channel Islands.

At the time, he received and signed a letter that notified him that it was a federal crime to travel to San Clemente Island without the Navy’s permission and instructed him not to return.

But on April 6 of this year, military authorities say, White flew his plane to San Clemente Island again and landed it without permission. While on the island, he stole a Navy-owned Ford F-150 truck and drove it around the island, crashing it into locked gates that blocked off certain locations.

He was not detained until the next morning when he was seen on security footage walking around, according to charging documents. Officials discovered he had driven the truck onto unpaved terrain and gotten stuck.

White's attorney did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Officials estimate that White’s intrusion onto the base cost nearly 500 man-hours and resulted in a $500,000 loss to the Navy.

“Whatever (White’s) intentions were, the military did not know them," prosecutors said in court documents. “The island went on a complete lockdown."

White was initially released on bond but has been in federal custody since he cut off his ankle bracelet earlier this year.

He will be sentenced Sept. 29 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for theft of government property and up to six months for illegally entering a naval installation.