Maj. Josh Carter of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has identified the pilot of the plane as Samuel Shields of Blue Ridge.
According to online records, Shields is an officer of DSI LLC, the company to which the plane is registered.
Shields is being questioned by law enforcement this afternoon and has not been charged in the incident.
The man who led authorities on a region-wide airplane chase intended to crash the single-engine Cessna into Smith Mountain Lake, according to Franklin County authorities.
Sheriff Ewell Hunt said the man, whose name still has not been released, told a family member that he planned to crash the plane into the lake. Shortly before 11 a.m., the man fueled up the plane and took off from Roanoke Regional Airport without receiving clearance from the tower, Hunt said.
Contrary to earlier reports, airport spokeswoman Sherry Wallace said the plane was not stolen, and the pilot is one of four owners.
The missing plane has landed at Roanoke Regional Airport.
Maj. Ricky Gardner of the Bedford Co. sheriff's office said the pilot is in police custody.
The pilot got out of the plane and ran down the runway, where he was caught by the FBI and is now in their custody, according to Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt.
Air marshals in Roanoke have been in contact with the plane's pilot, and communications have suggested that the pilot may be suicidal, said Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt.
The state police are shadowing the plane, which has been seen over Smith Mountain Lake and Read Mountain, with a Med-Flight helicopter.
The missing plane is a white single-engine Cessna 172, according to Sherry Wallace at Roanoke Regional Airport.
Authorities have no reason to believe that the plane was stolen or that it is being flown by an unauthorized person, she said.
The Roanoke control tower has had no communication with the pilot, and the plane is not on the radar. Private planes are allowed to fly below 200 feet, which puts them below radar, she said.
The plane has been spotted around Smith Mountain Lake and flying over Read Mountain.
Franklin County authorities are conducting voluntary evacuations of Bridgewater Plaza at Smith Mountain Lake because a plane has been seen flying around the lake.
Violet Newby, an employee at the Mouse Trap, said a sheriff’s deputy came into the shop just minutes ago and told them that a plane had been sighted flying around the lake and that the pilot may be suicidal. She said he told them that it’s up to them whether they want to remain open or close the store.
Aisha Johnson, spokeswoman for Roanoke police, said the department is working with Roanoke Regional Airport to identify the pilot and find the plane.
Vicki Gardner, Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, said deputies have been notifying business owners at Bridgewater Plaza that there is a plane threatening to crash at the lake. For now the visitor center will remain open, though Gardner did give employees there the option to leave.
Authorities are searching for a private plane that disappeared after taking off from Roanoke this morning.
Roanoke Regional Airport spokeswoman Sherry Wallace said a private plane took off from the airport without clearance from the tower at about 10:50 a.m. Authorities don’t know where the plane went and have not said if they know who the pilot is.
