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ELECTRONICS WERE STOLEN, WITH EXPENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE PLANES. JENNIFER: THE NASHUA AIRPORT SITS ON 350 ACRES, SURROUNDED FENCING AND LOCKED GATES, WITH SOME 200 PRIVATE AIRCRAFT STORED IN HANGARS AND ON THE TARMAC. THE MANAGER DESCRIBES A SENSE SAFETY IN THIS TIGHT KNIT AVIATION COMMUNITY, UNTIL DISCOVERY MADE EARLY SATURDAY. >> EVERYBODY IS FRUSTRATED AND FEELS VERY VIOLATED. JENNIFER: SOMETIME OVERNIGHT FRIDAY, SOMEONE BROKE INTO AT LEAST NINE AIRCRAFT ON THE TARMAC, STRIPPING HIGH END AVIONICS EQUIPMENT FROM THEI CONTROL PANELS. EVERYTHING FROM COMMUNICATIONS RADIOS TO GPS. >> THEY CAN RANGE IN VALUE FROM SEVERAL HUNDRED TO SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS. JENNIFER: OFFICIALS THIEVES KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING BECAUSE TRANSPONDERS WERE LEFT BEHIND. >> IF YOU STOLE THOSE, YOU WOULD GET CAUGHT IMMEDIATELY, BECAUSE THEY ARE SERIALIZED TO THE AIRCRAFT AND THE OWNER. EVERY ONE OF THOSE IS STILL IN THE PLANES. JENNIFER: THE VANDAL OR VANDALS WIELDING A PRY BAR. THEY DID DAMAGE TO DOOR LATCH MECHANISMS, THE DOORS THEMSELVES. ONE AIRCRAFT IN PARTICULAR THEY DID NOT GAIN ACCES TO BUT THEY BROKE A WINDOW INTO DOOR HANDLE. JENNIFER INDIVIDUAL PLANE OWNERS STILL HAVE TO COME DOWN AND ASSESS ANY DAMAG AND INVENTORY WHAT MIGHT BE MISSING, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO HAVE EACH PLANE INSPECTED BEFORE IT CAN BE CONSIDERED SAFE AND AIRWORTHY. THIS WILL BE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS PER AIRCRAFT JUST TO INSPECT THEM AND THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE FIXING THE DAMAGE. JENNIFER: NASHUA POLICE ARE ON THE CASE AND SAY THEY’RE CHECKING SIMILAR EAST COAST CRIMES INVOLVING ORGANIZED THEFT RINGS. FEDERAL AUTHORITIE INVESTIGATING, TOO. >> TAMPERING WITH AN AIRCRAFT IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. IT’S A VERY SERIOUS CRIME.

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Investigators are trying to figure out who broke into at least nine aircraft at Nashua Airport over the weekend.Officials said tens of thousands of dollars in electronics were stolen and expensive damage was done to the planes.Nashua Airport sits on 350 acres and is surrounded by fences and locked gates. About 200 private aircraft are stored in hangars and on the tarmac.Airport Manager Chris Lynch said there was a sense of safety in the tightknit aviation community until the thefts were discovered early Saturday."Owners are very frustrated," Lynch said. "Everyone feels extremely violated."Officials said someone broke into the aircraft sometime overnight Friday and stripped high-end avionics equipment from their control panels, taking everything from communications radios to GPS equipment."They can range in value, say, from several hundred to several thousand dollars," said Farrell Woods, chairman of the Nashua Airport Authority Board.Officials said the thieves knew what they were doing because transponders were left behind. "If you stole those, you'd get caught immediately, because they're all serialized to that aircraft, to the owner," Lynch said. "Every one of those is still sitting in the planes."The thieves used a pry bar to get into the aircraft, officials said."They did damage to door-latching mechanisms, the doors themselves," Lynch said. "There was one airplane in particular that they did not gain access to, but they broke a window, broke a door handle."Individual plane owners still have to assess the damage and inventory what might be missing. Each plane will then have to be inspected before they can be considered safe and airworthy, Lynch said."There's going to be thousands of dollars per aircraft just to inspect them," he said. "That doesn't even include fixing all the damage."Nashua police are investigating whether there is any connection to similar East Coast crimes involving organized theft rings. Federal authorities are also investigating, Lynch said."Tampering with an aircraft is a federal offense," he said. "It's a very serious crime."