Pilot 'defects' to Cuba on his first solo flight

A student pilot, on his first solo flight from a Florida airport, stole the plane and flew to Havana, crash landing the Cessna on a rocky coastline.

Witnesses said he walked away from the craft, apparently unharmed.

The pilot, John Reese, was taking a short test flight at an airport in the Florida Keys, said his instructor, Ed Steigerwald.

But just before Reese was supposed to land the Cessna 171, he pulled up and headed south.

He crash landed on rocks along the coast in eastern Havana - 140 miles from the Florida airport - apparently flipping over as he landed. The Cessna, lying upside down afterward, was cordoned off and surrounded by more than a dozen policemen.

The pilot did not appear to be seriously injured, only dizzy after he got out of the plane and walked away, said witness Johan Mora.

There was no immediate report on the landing from the Cuban Government, which often waits hours, even days, to comment on incidents that could have political consequences.

The incident was not mentioned by state media.

Reese was a driver for a Pizza Hut restaurant in Marathon.

Instructor Steigerwald said his test for the day involved "just to take off, stay in the traffic pattern and come right back around and land."

"We did not discuss any forms of navigation, especially long-range navigation," Steigerwald said.

"He obviously had some prior experience, somewhere along the way."

A Navy plane made visual contact with the white Cessna as it crossed the Florida Straits, but never received a radio response from the pilot. The Navy followed the plane to the edge of Cuban airspace before turning back.