2 planes hit with bullets at Corona Municipal Airport (KAJO), California

Corona police are investigating what may be separate incidents that have left two planes at Corona Airport with bullet holes.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, Jim Yost arrived at the airport for an early morning flight on behalf of Wings of Faith Ministries, which delivers clothing and food to Native American reservations in California and nearby states.

Instead, his wife, Debbie, noticed damage on the passenger side of their Cessna 182. Before long, they found one bullet hole in the door of the hangar and another in a storage box in the rear of the hangar. The bullet grazed the plane in two places.

A week earlier, Dave Mejia, whose Cessna 172 is tied down nearby, discovered a bullet hole on the wing as he prepared for a morning flight.

Mejia said the repair estimate is $5,600. Yost is awaiting his. Both planes are insured for body damage.

Mejia, whose family plane has been at the airport for 23 years, suggested that “someone with a pass” to open the gate at night might be responsible. “We’re a community that looks after each other.”

He doubted that the crimes would have occurred during the day when the airport is busy.

Police Sgt. Brent Nelson said two bullets of similar caliber have been found, and that an investigation is continuing.

The Mejias were longtime owners of Mejia TV & Appliances on East Sixth Street in Corona until its closing last year. Dave’s mother, Eva, learned to fly at the age of 55, and his late father, Zeke, was also a pilot.

Mejia said news of the shootings spread quickly around the airport, and he fears that “one of these guys will come down here at night with a gun and someone will get hurt.”

The gate is the only security at the airport, Assistant City Manager Greg Irvine said, although police make random patrols. The airport land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineer and is leased to the city. Private parties own the improvements, such as hangars, and lease them to individuals and businesses.

The city’s airport manager retired recently, Irvine said, and the city has begun recruiting efforts to find a replacement.

Follow consolidation of city departments in August, the Parks and Community Services Department took over administration of the airport, which is home to more than 350 private aircraft.

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