Pilot spots theft at own house while flying plane

UNDATED (WHDH) -- On David Zehntner's way back from North Carolina, he did what he always does before landing his Cessna-1-82.

"Our house is here so we always circle the area, let my mom know we're coming in and check the house out in the air,” said Zehntner.

But someone else was already checking out Zehntner’s house from the ground.

"He went around to the windows, opening doors, or trying to open them, looking in windows and pretty well surveying the house,” said Zehntner.

To survey the situation, Zehntner dropped the plane to 300 feet.

He hovered over his house for nearly ten minutes, just watching a man trying to break into his own home.

"Right in front of us, with us making a tight circle around our property here, watching him from the air and he was clearly looking at us several times, looked up,” said Zehntner.

And then Zehntner watched as the man hooked up his trailer to his truck and drove off.

David wasn't going to let him get away. He followed him in the air and as soon as he knew the direction he was headed. David landed his plane and called 9-1-1.

With zehntner’s lead and the help of several agencies, 59-year-old Gary Haines of Virginia was arrested.

It took just 40 minutes to catch him, 40 miles away from where Zehntner last saw him, with his stolen trailer in tow.

"I would be willing to play a lottery ticket number on that one that it doesn't happen that often. So he got extremely lucky that he happened to be in the right place in exactly the right time,” said Detective Ken Roguska, CCSO Property Crimes Unit.

After the arrest, the suspect's truck was impounded and searched. Inside, detectives found a loaded rifle and bullets. Police are now investigating those items.