As I mention in
The Barefoot Bandit, on my trip to the Bahamas during Colton Harris-Moore's run, I discovered that he had been carrying around a Contour HD camera. Skiers, bikers,
hang-gliders and others strap this tiny videocam onto their helmets to get exciting “You are
there!” footage. You can also mount them on dashboards, whether on a car or a plane.
Colton used the camera both with a dashboard mount and as a hand-held to film his point of view as he stole airplanes and cars, as well as
just playing around in the woods.
I’ve known this footage existed for quite awhile, but
repeated Freedom of Information Act requests to review it have been refused
and, currently, delayed by the FBI. I’m not certain how this local Seattle
television station, KOMO, obtained the video.
As you check out the clips, what they call nighttime footage is actually daybreak in
Bloomington, Indiana as Colton steals and taxis Spider Miller’s Cessna Corvalis
in preparation for his flight to the Bahamas. The written commentary from the
television station says that Colton waits for the airport to open, as evidenced by the runway lights. But that’s not accurate. Most small airports have a lighting
system that pilots can turn on and off by using their radios. Colton knew
how to turn on the lights himself.
There are a number of clips here that you can play at KOMO's site. Nothing
very exciting unless you keep in mind that this was a young man who’d never had
a formal flight lesson…
