An Alberta rancher is still in shock after almost 2,000 litres of aviation fuel was stolen from the tank in his yard.

Bob Olson, who lives in Jenner, located about 300 kilometres east of Calgary, has used an airplane for work and as a hobby for more than 35 years.

"We have to haul our cows to a lot of our pasture so often I'll fly out there and make sure the gates are closed and the cows are in the right place and the bulls are in the right spot and all that stuff,” Olson said.

But some thieves put a stop to his flight plan three weeks ago.

Olson started to put fuel in his plane from the tank he just spent $4,000 filling, to find it was empty.

“I never even got a cup full of fuel out of that thing, it was gone — all of it," Olson said.

The farmer has surveillance cameras and signs on this property, but the cameras weren’t working when the fuel disappeared.

“There's no doubt that whoever got it knows that it was us — they know they stole from us and that's what hurts the worst," Olson said.

Aviation fuel has a distinct, sweet smell and is sometimes used in high performance vehicles.

RCMP are investigating but say it’s going to be a tough crime to solve since there are no witnesses.