Pilot and Assistant Arrested for Trying to Kidnap and Deport Flight Student Back to China

The incident occurred in the house of local flight school student, Tianshu Shi, on May 25 at 1400 block of Trudie Trail in Redding, California, according to the Redding Police Department, CBS News reported.

On Friday morning, Shi spoke to his brother, Baihan Fu, who lives in Shanghai, China, and told him that somebody is at his door to “take him away.” After not hearing from his brother after that, Fu immediately contacted another student from the flight school and discovered that Shi had been assaulted and abducted. He immediately called the Redding Police Department to report the kidnapping, as said in the news release.

It was discovered that IASCO Flight Training school pilot and instructor, Jonathan McConkey, along with his female assistant, Kelsi Hoser, paid Shi a visit in his home the night before, where they told him “they are sending him back to China.”

The following morning, McConkey and Hoser returned to Shi’s home to carry out their threat, but Shi refused to go with the pilot and his assistant. However, the man assaulted him threatened him with violence if Shi failed to comply peacefully.

Fearing for his safety, Shi went with McConkey and Hoser, and was taken to the Redding Municipal Airport to be sent back to China. Luckily, officers found all three of them in the airport; McConkey and Hoser were immediately arrested and booked for conspiracy and kidnapping.

Shi sustained minor injuries from the traumatic event. While speaking to Record Searchlight, he recounted how terrified he was by what happened and was grateful to the police for saving him.

“My inside is bad because I never had this experience before,” Shi, who has been in the United States for seven months, said about his mental state. “He’s very rude, used too much dirty words. I can’t describe,” he added.

“The police officer is the best American,” Shi told the publication.

Redding Police did not disclose the motive for the kidnapping and deportation attempt.

Images via Facebook / Redding Police Department