![[Credit: FAA]](https://crimeauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.44.16-AM.png)
[Credit: FAA]
At the center of it all is Christian Estoque, a 39-year-old from Pomona who is accused of operating an unregistered aircraft, flying without a license, and attempting to hijack a second plane while under the influence of drugs. The criminal complaint sketches out a story that sounds like a movie pitch, but the charges, and the safety questions they raise, are very real.
The suspect, the drugs, and a cross-state mystery
Federal agents say the trail started in Washington state, where a single engine aircraft vanished from Auburn Municipal Airport and later turned up in California with signs it had been flown hard and far. According to a detailed complaint, the owner reported the plane missing after it disappeared from its tie-down spot, and investigators eventually linked its movements to a man who had no pilot certificate and no legal right to be in the cockpit. That man, identified as Pomona resident Christian Estoque, is now charged with operating an unregistered aircraft at multiple municipal airports, a violation laid out in an official filing that begins, “According to the complaint, a single engine aircraft was reported stolen by the owner on January 3rd at the Auburn Municipal airport.”
By the time agents caught up with him, Estoque had allegedly taken the plane on a multi-day odyssey that started in Auburn and wound through several small fields before ending in Southern California. Federal investigators say he admitted to using methamphetamine during the flights, a detail that turns an already reckless stunt into a chilling example of how drug use and aviation can collide. One aviation-focused summary notes that the California man, identified as Christian Estoque, has been charged in federal court for operating an unregistered aircraft while under the influence of meth over a three day period, a key point highlighted in a Key Takeaways section that underscores just how long this alleged binge in the sky lasted.
Auburn to Corona: how a stolen plane slipped through the cracks
The story really picks up speed once the stolen aircraft leaves Auburn Municipal and starts popping up on radar and security cameras hundreds of miles away. Investigators say the single engine plane was first tracked heading south from Auburn, then later spotted at smaller airports where the pilot refueled and took off again without raising enough suspicion to stop him. A regional report on the case describes how the Man arrested on federal charges linked to the stolen Auburn plane was flying high on meth as he moved between Washington and Corona, California, illustrating how easily a determined pilot can hopscotch across the West using lightly monitored airfields.
By the time the aircraft reached Corona, the mystery of the missing plane in Washington had turned into a full-blown federal investigation. The FBI’s Los Angeles office, working with local law enforcement, began piecing together surveillance footage, fuel receipts, and witness statements that pointed to Estoque as the person behind the controls. A national write-up on the case notes that the first real lead came when authorities learned that a Pomona man had been charged with operating an unregistered aircraft at municipal airports, a description that matched the Auburn theft and helped close the loop between the missing plane and the suspect.
Confrontation in SoCal: a second plane and a fast arrest
What might have remained a strange theft case turned more dangerous when Estoque allegedly tried to move on to a second aircraft in Southern California. According to federal investigators, after landing the stolen plane at a small airport, he made his way to another aircraft and attempted to take control of it while still under the influence of methamphetamine. A national account of the incident describes how a Man allegedly stole a plane while high on meth and was caught in the middle of another theft, suggesting that by the time authorities closed in, he was already trying to upgrade his stolen ride.
The confrontation at the Southern California airport appears to have been the breaking point. Witnesses and airport staff alerted law enforcement as Estoque moved toward the second aircraft, and agents with the FBI’s LAX Joint Terrorism Task Force stepped in. One detailed report notes that the FBI LAX team arrested Christian Estoque, 39, on suspicion of operating an unregistered aircraft and attempting to hijack another, bringing an end to a spree that had stretched from Auburn to Corona airport. Another account of the same SoCal episode puts it bluntly, describing how a Man high on meth tried to hijack an airplane at a SoCal airport after flying a stolen plane in from Washington, a sequence that lines up with the federal complaint.
Charges, courtroom fallout, and what investigators say they found
Once Estoque was in custody, the case shifted from runway drama to courtroom paperwork, and the list of allegations is long. Federal prosecutors have charged him with operating an unregistered aircraft, interfering with the operation of an aircraft, and attempting to commandeer a second plane while under the influence of methamphetamine. A national crime report frames the case as a textbook example of how drug use can escalate into aviation crime, describing a Man Charged After an Airplane While High, Drugs and Attempting to Hijack Another, with the FBI Los Angeles office leading the prosecution.
Investigators say their evidence goes beyond eyewitness accounts. According to the complaint, Estoque was not a registered pilot, and there is no record of him ever holding a valid certificate. Agents also say he admitted to having flown in the airplane during the period it was missing, and that he was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time. One detailed summary notes that Investigators said Estoque was not a registered pilot and that he was released on bond after his initial court appearance, a reminder that even in a case this dramatic, the legal process still moves through its usual steps.
Security gaps, small airports, and the bigger meth problem
Beyond the spectacle of one man’s alleged cross-state joyride, the case is forcing some uncomfortable conversations about security at smaller airports and the reach of methamphetamine in communities that sit far from big city headlines. The Auburn theft, the flights south, and the attempted second hijacking all unfolded at municipal fields that typically rely on a mix of fences, cameras, and trust among regulars. A national aviation piece notes that The FBI has now arrested a suspect in the theft of an aircraft in Washington and that the FBI investigation has highlighted how quickly a stolen plane can move from one lightly guarded airport to another before anyone realizes it is gone.
The drug angle is just as troubling. Methamphetamine has long been a scourge in parts of the West, but seeing it tied so directly to aircraft theft and attempted hijacking raises the stakes. One national write-up on the case describes how a California Man Arrested After Allegedly Stealing Two Airplanes and Flying While under the influence of Meth has become a cautionary tale for airport managers and law enforcement. Another national account frames the broader trend in stark terms, listing topics like Plane theft, Methamphetamine, Aircraft, FBI, and Arrest as part of a growing pattern of drug fueled aviation crimes, a pattern captured in a report that ties the Auburn case to a wider set of Plane theft investigations.
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