William James McAdams, a 24-year-old flight instructor, was last seen in Palo Alto, California, during the early morning hours of May 8, 2015. At approximately 1:00 a.m., McAdams took a single-engine 2011 G1000 Cessna Skyhawk 172S with the tail number N191TG from the Palo Alto Municipal Airport without permission and flew off. He has not been heard from since. The aircraft, which had a range of about 500 miles, was leased to a flight school where he worked. McAdams was the owner of his own flight school, Fly High Aviation School, which also operated out of the Palo Alto airport.
The last radar contact with the plane occurred at 2:45 a.m., showing it flying southwest over the Pacific Ocean, approximately 70 miles off the coast of Watsonville, California, at a speed of 134 miles per hour. Several hours later, the Federal Aviation Administration received a brief signal from the plane's emergency beacon, but it was too short to pinpoint a location. It is uncertain whether the beacon was activated intentionally or due to a crash. An electronic signal from the plane was also detected off the California coast near the Mexican border. Authorities considered it possible that McAdams could have traveled as far south as Mexico.
At the time of his disappearance, McAdams was facing serious legal troubles in Florida. He had been arrested on April 24, 2015, in Orange County, Florida, on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and battery. The charges stemmed from an alleged incident involving a woman at an Orlando hotel. McAdams was released on a $16,000 bond on April 27 and had entered a not guilty plea, with his arraignment scheduled for June 2, 2015.
William James McAdams is described as a white male, 6'2" tall, and weighing 155 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo of an airplane on his shoulder. He was born on July 14, 1990. McAdams, also known as Will, had a notable career in aviation for his age, having written technical manuals on aviation training and founded his own flight school in California in 2012.
Last Seen: May 08, 2015
