A single-engine plane was stolen from a Thunder Bay, Ont., aviation school Monday afternoon, sparking a bizarre chase through U.S. airspace that ended in a small Missouri town.

The Cessna 172 was taken around 2:55 p.m. ET and soon crossed into the United States, passing over Wisconsin and Illinois as it was tracked by two F-16 fighter jets.

Nearly eight hours later, the pilot landed on a dirt road in the southern Missouri town of Ellsinore and fled on foot.

Authorities allege 31-year-old Adam Dylan Leon, a native of Turkey who became a Canadian citizen last year, flew the stolen plane. He was arrested just outside Ellsinore late Monday night.

Lt.-Cmdr. Gary Ross, a spokesperson for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the pilot did not respond to radio calls from the jets or the FAA during the entire pursuit.

He also said the pilot refused to acknowledge the nonverbal communications from the F-16 jets to follow them. It appears the plane only landed as it came close to running out of fuel.

At about 5 p.m., the state capital building in Madison, Wis., was evacuated before the plane passed near the region. Police cars cordoned off the streets around the building and officers told people to move away from the area.

The small plane belongs to Confederation College's aviation program and was taken off from the Thunder Bay International Airport.

According to local radio, someone jumped the fence and took off on an unauthorized flight.

City police are at the scene at the college's hangar. Police spokesperson Chris Adams says officers have little to go on at the time.

According to Cessna's website, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk is world's most flown airplane. It has a maximum cruise speed of 233 kilometres an hour and a range of 1,130 km.