Man Shoots Gun in Air, Hits Cessna Plane, Now in Jail for Attempted Murder

Today we look at a story from Fertile, Minnesota of a man who, like we all do on occasion, got annoyed at the sounds of the nearby airport. However where he and the rest of us differ is where we may mutter some annoyance about the sound, this man decided to grab his firearm and shoot at the bird.

Chad Olson of Fertile has a history of shooting his gun up into the air when planes are taking off or landing at nearby Fertile Airfield. On four separate occasions beyond this story, Olson has called the FAA making threatening statements including stating that he will shoot down airplanes that he deems as “a threat” to him. Never before had there been any damage done until an incident on October 7th.

On the 7th, a local pilot was flying his 1974 Cessna Skywagon when in the middle of the flight he heard a sudden metallic pop from his bird. After hearing this, the pilot decided to bring his plane back down to the ground but didn’t check what made the sound until the next day when he was washing his plane and found a hole in the fuselage. A hole that would cost the pilot $20,000 to fix due to its placement on the aircraft.

Well, due to his history of threats there was one door the police came knocking on following the incident. That of Chad Olson. It was then quickly determined that he was, in fact, the shooter and due to the danger this pilot faced and other pilots may have faced if Olson was an even better shot next time, the Cessna pilot decided to pursue criminal charges against Olson.

Now, because of his own stupidity and lack of empathy for everyone that a small plane crash could affect, Chad Olson sits and waits to hear his case for attempted murder play out in the courts, likely hearing and experiencing things much more annoying than planes overhead in the jailhouse.

Now there are plenty of news stories about firing your gun in the air and the legal trouble that that alone can get you, but in this situation, common sense should tell you to not make threats AND shoot your gun in the air AND aim your gun at a plane, but considering this man did just that, we now have to mention it as something you should not do.

What do you think of this story? Have you ever mistakenly shot your firearm in the air? Let us know in the comments below.