Posted on 08/11/2018 12:57:36 AM PDT by Simon Green
A "suicidal" airline employee stole an empty Horizon Air turboprop plane, took off from Sea-Tac International Airport and was chased by military jets before crashing into a small island in the Puget Sound on Friday night, officials said.
Preliminary information suggests the crash occurred because the 29-year-old man was "doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills," the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.
Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, said on Twitter the man was suicidal and there was no connection to terrorism.
Video showed the Horizon Air Q400 doing large loops and other dangerous maneuvers as the sun set on the Puget Sound. There were no passengers aboard. Authorities initially said the man was a mechanic but Alaska Airlines later said he was believed to be a ground service agent employed by Horizon. Those employees direct aircraft for takeoff and gate approach and de-ice planes.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane being chased by military aircraft before it crashed on Ketron Island, southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Troyer said F-15 aircraft scrambled out of Portland, Oregon, and were in the air "within a few minutes" and the pilots kept "people on the ground safe."
The sheriff's department said they were working to conduct a background investigation on the Pierce County resident, whose name was not immediately released.
The aircraft was stolen about 8 p.m. Alaska Airlines said it was in a "maintenance position" and not scheduled for a passenger flight. Horizon Air is part of Alaska Air Group and flies shorter routes throughout the U.S. West. The Q400 is a turboprop aircraft with 76 seats.
(Excerpt) Read more at wdtn.com ...
I’d hate to be that insurance agent.
My comment might jinx it but so far no mention of Trump or blame toward him. That is news.
Not sure what He was thinking when he took off but def was his last ride.
Crappy reporting. What happened to the man besides the fact that he crashed the plane?
AP - Always poor!
Possibly a rapid cycling manic depressive
https://www.verywellmind.com/rapid-cycling-explanation-380488
I’d hate to be that insurance agent.
What the hell does the ins agent have to do with this nut cake stealing and crashing this plane? Please explain!!!
The airline will obviously file a claim for the stolen and destroy the airplane.
Probably lots of insurance claims and lawsuits out of this. Guy’s family. Airline. Landowners on island.
It’s a joke son. Just a joke.
Whatever happened to the good old days when people just jumped off buildings instead of taking out a $30 million dollar aircraft with them? What a tragic waste of plane.
Its a miracle he didn't cause an incident with any other inbound plane... or others on active taxiways. There's a whole big deal just keeping planes from bumping into each other on those taxiways. That requires coordination from the tower.
They knew he was a suicidal employee? And with unlimited access to aircraft?
“doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills,”
Very poor reporting.
He was really whipping that plane around in the video. Bombardier should use it in advertisements.
Horizon insurance and their legal team will be applying due diligence to avoid payouts. Horizon could go out if business. And frankly, giving an obviously known suicidal employee virtually unlimited access to aircraft might constitute gross negligence. So somebody owes. And litigation from every insurance agency involved (ex: property owners) including Horizons insurer is forthcoming. Guaranteed.
“The sheriff’s department said they were working to conduct a background investigation on the Pierce County resident...”
Sounds like maybe the airline should have done that.
Listening to the tower tapes, the guy was obviously off his rocker and suicidal. Sad - a capable mechanic - and able to take off and fly an airplane! And it sounded like he had loved-ones that he knew would be devastated. I’m guessing that even a thorough background check wouldn’t have found anything that this guy would finally snap.
Oh man, what a story. Poor guy, I feel sorry for him. Prayers for his family and loved ones. I hope nobody was hurt on the sparsely populated island.
Twitter pics of the F-15s scrambling out of PDX to intercept this guy.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sabian404/status/1028137639747051521
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