A stolen plane was chased by fighter jets over three US states before the pilot landed on a highway in Missouri and ran away.

State government buildings were evacuated as fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the plane, stolen from a flight school in Canada on Monday.

Adam Leon, 31, was arrested after finally landing in southeast Missouri at the end of a six hour flight.

He stole the light plane from Thunder Bay airport, in Ontario at around 2.30 pm local time and entered US airspace an hour later. Two F-16 fighter jets from NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) were scrambled to intercept him at the Michigan-Wisconsin border but he refused to respond to their commands to land, and the chase continued over Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois before the Cessna finally touched down at Ellismore, Missouri.

Mr Leon's plane had enough fuel for an eight hour flight, according to Mike Kucharek, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Devence Command in Colorado.

He was flying erratically, and although he acknowledged seeing the F-16s he refused to obey their non-verbal commands to follow them, said Mr Kucharek.

Mr Leon was later arrested near a local grocery store.

The state Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin was closed as the plane flew over that section of the state. The building was evacuated and police cars drove on the foot paths by the doors of the Capitol. Others patrolled the streets of Capitol square.

People were allowed back in the building about an hour later.

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