NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Contact for further information: Sergeant Javier Acosta, [email protected] February 8, 2024 Stolen Aircraft Lands on Half Moon Bay Beach Half Moon Bay, Calif. - On Thursday February 8, 2024, at approximately 5 PM, San Mateo County Sheriff's Deputies received a report of a small airplane having landed near or on a beach in Half Moon Bay, CA. A thorough search revealed a small plane on the sand, just south of Poplar Beach. The plane was found intact and unoccupied. A short time later, Sheriff's Deputies located a person matching the description of the individual seen landing and then walking away from the airplane. During the course of the investigation, we learned that the airplane had been stolen from an airport in Palo Alto, CA. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office is working with the Palo Alto Police Department on this case, and together we are actively investigating the theft and recovery of the airplane. The individual seen walking away from the airplane has been identified as Luiz Gustavo Aires, a 50 year old male from Miami, Florida. Aires has been arrested and booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City, for violation of California Penal Code 499 (D)-Theft of an airplane.