“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.
Apparently one of those guys that direct planes from the ground. I listened to all of it and he mentioned minimum wage at one point.