Man accused of crashing plane incompetent, lawyer says

(CNN) - A man who authorities say defrauded investors and then tried to
fake his own death by deliberately crashing his plane in the Florida Panhandle
is not mentally competent to stand trial, his public defender says.
Marcus Schrenker, 38, is due in federal court Thursday where he will be
arraigned on charges of intentionally destroying an aircraft and faking a
distress call.

In court papers filed with a Florida federal judge Wednesday, Schrenker's
public defender, Thomas Keith, said he spoke with his client for the first time
this week and there is a "bona fide" doubt regarding Schrenker's mental
competency.

Keith did not say what he and Schrenker talked about when they met
Tuesday, but that there was "reasonable cause" to believe Schrenker may be
suffering from a mental disorder that renders him mentally incompetent to be
tried on charges.

Schrenker took off alone January 11 from Anderson, Indiana, in a Piper
PA-46 en route to Destin, Florida. Over Alabama, he contacted air traffic
controllers, saying the windshield of the plane had imploded and he was
bleeding profusely.

Police suspect he then put the aircraft on autopilot and parachuted to
the ground.