https://www.todayonline.com/world/s...-empty-airplane-after-taking-seattles-airport
'Suicidal' airline mechanic crashes empty airplane after taking off from Seattle's airport
Published11 August, 2018
Updated 11 August, 2018
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An Horizon Air ground service agent took the controls of a Bombardier Q400 turboprop airplane in a maintenance area atSeattle-Tacoma International Airport at about 8 pm local time Friday and took off, embarking on flight over Seattle before crashing about an one hour later on Ketron Island in Puget Sound, Horizon sister carrier Alaska Airline said online.
The 29-year-old man, who has not been identified, was suicidal and appeared to have acted alone, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said on Twitter, adding the employee was probably killed in the crash.
"Doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash into Island," the sheriff said on Twitter.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the incident, said Mr Brad Tilden, the CEO of Alaska Air Group, in an online statement.
“We’re working to find out everything we possibly can about what happened," he said.
There was no indication that the incident was an act of terror and no passengers were aboard the plane, the FBI said in a series of Tweets.
"The FBI continues to work with our state, local, and federal partners to gather a complete picture of what transpired with tonight's unauthorized Horizon aircraft takeoff and crash," the agency said.
It is unclear how the employee was able to taxi the plane on a runway and take off without authorisation. An Alaska Air spokesman said he did not have information about how the incident occurred.
"Okay this insane. A pilot on the plane in front of us just went rogue and took off on an empty plane bypassing orders from the tower," tweeted Mr Ben Schaechter, a passenger on an airplane that was taxiing to take off before the incident.
Video footage on social media showed a large plane flying above the Seattle area with a F-15 fighter jet following it. Two F-15s pursued the plane but were not involved in the crash, the sheriff said.
"Told F-15s made it within a few minutes of theft of plane. Pilots kept plane out of harm's way and people on ground safe," the sheriff said on Twitter.
Alaska Air said the F-15s were scrambled from a Portland air base.
The sheriff said earlier that the employee was a airline mechanic, but the airline said he was a ground service agent.
Fire crews were working on putting out the fire from the crash on Ketron Island in Puget Sound. No one was injured on the ground, authorities said. Ketron Island is a sparsely populated island 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the airport.
The Bombardier Q400 turboprop airplane is designed for shorter-distance flights and can seat 76 passengers, Alaska Air said on its website.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/tr...s-taken-from-seattle-airport-crashes-official
Airplane without passengers taken from Seattle airport, crashes: official
Sat, Aug 11, 2018 - 1:28 PM
An airline employee "conducted an unauthorised takeoff" of an airplane without passengers at the Seattle-Tacoma airport in the northwestern US state of Washington late Friday, airport officials said on Twitter.
PHOTO: AFP
[SAN FRANCISCO] An airline employee "conducted an unauthorised takeoff" of an airplane without passengers at the Seattle-Tacoma airport in the northwestern US state of Washington late Friday, airport officials said on Twitter.
The aircraft "has crashed in south Puget Sound", Sea-Tac Airport said, adding that normal operations at the airport had resumed.
Alaska Airlines on Twitter said the airplane was a turboprop Q400 airplane belonging to Horizon Air.
AFP
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ttle-pilot-opens-up-to-control-tower-10609298
World 'A few screws loose': Seattle pilot opens up to control tower
Screengrab taken from footage filmed by bystander John Wauldron on Aug 10, 2018 showing an empty passenger airplane that was stolen from the Seattle-Tacoma airport. (Photo: AFP/ John WAULDRON)
11 Aug 2018 08:23PM (Updated: 11 Aug 2018 08:30PM)
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SAN FRANCISCO: The "suicidal" mechanic who commandeered and crashed a plane without passengers from a US airport in Washington state seemed excited, confused, and at times calm while talking with the air traffic control tower.
The 29-year-old man, identified as "Rich" or "Richard", flew out of the Seattle-Takoma airport with a twin-engine, 76-seat turboprop Bombardier Q400 belonging to Horizon Air at around 8pm Friday (Aug 10).
Two F-15 fighter jets were scrambled as "Rich" flew the passenger plane in an aerial loop, then headed south. He died when the plane crashed after a 90 minutes "joy ride".
The local sheriff's office quickly described him via Twitter as "suicidal", but audio from his conversation with the Sea-Tac control tower portrays a more complex picture.
"Rich" said in a matter-of-fact way that he fueled the airplane "to go check out the Olympics", according to audio posted by The Seattle Times newspaper.
He then expresses about fuel - it "burned quite a bit faster than I expected" - as the air traffic control officer gently tries to direct him to a nearby military base.
"Oh man," "Rich" answers. "Those guys will rough me up if I try and land there ... They probably have anti-aircraft."
"They don't have any of that stuff," the air-traffic controller assures him. "We're just trying to find a place for you to land safely."
"I'm not quite ready to bring it down just yet," the pilot says.
"This is probably jail time for life, huh?" he asks. "I would hope it is for a guy like me."
"Oh, Richard," the controller responds. "We're not going to worry or think about that. But could you start a left turn please?"
Later on, the pilot says: "I've got a lot of people that care about me. It's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologise to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it, until now."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...steals-plane-seattle-airport-crashes-10608932
Mechanic steals empty plane from Seattle's airport, crashes
A screengrab of a video showing a stolen plane flying in Seattle. (Screengrab: Leah Morse)
11 Aug 2018 01:18PM (Updated: 11 Aug 2018 10:05PM)
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SAN FRANCISCO: An airline mechanic stole an airplane at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on Friday (Aug 10) and was chased by two US military jets before crashing on a nearby sparsely populated island, the local sheriff said.
There was no indication that the incident was an act of terror, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said on Twitter.
"This is not a terrorist incident. Confirmed info ... this is a single suicide male. We know who he is. No others involved," the office of the Pierce County Sheriff said.
No passengers were on board and normal operations have resumed at the airfield, the airport said on Twitter.
The 29-year-old pilot was suicidal and appeared to have acted alone, the sheriff said, adding he was probably killed in the crash. The pilot's identity has not been made public.
"Was doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash into Island," the sheriff said on Twitter.
Constance von Muehlen, chief operating officer of Horizon Air, a sister carrier of Alaska Airlines, said that at about 8pm an employee of the airline undertook an unauthorised take-off of a Q400 twin-engine turboprop airplane.
It is unclear how the employee was able to taxi the plane on a runway and take off without authorisation. An Alaska Air spokesman said he did not have information about how the incident occurred.
In an update on its website, Alaska Airlines said that it believed a "ground service agent" employed by Horizon Air was responsible, and that the plane had been taken from a maintenance position and was "not scheduled for passenger flight".
"No ground structures were involved at the crash site," it said. "Military jets were scrambled from Portland, but it does not appear that these jets were involved in the crash of the Horizon aircraft."
Two F-15s fighter jets pursued the plane but were not involved in the crash, local TV station KIRO7 reported.
"Told F-15s made it within a few minutes of theft of plane. Pilots kept plane out of harm's way and people on ground safe," the sheriff said on Twitter.
Video footage on social media showed a large plane flying above the Seattle area with an F-15 following it.
"Okay this insane. A pilot on the plane in front of us just went rogue and took off on an empty plane bypassing orders from the tower," tweeted Ben Schaechter, a passenger on an airplane that was taxiing to take off before the incident.
Witness reports and videos posted on social media showed the plane making a loop, then flying low over a body of water, trailed by at least one fighter jet.
"I was outside watering and heard the jets, saw the plane coming, and something told me to get my phone and record," said Leah Morse, who took a video of the plane tailed by jets flying over her house. "Felt it in my gut something was wrong."
Morse added that her mother, who lived closer to the crash site, texted about eight minutes later to say that her whole house shook. "We saw the jets circle back after and she texted that there was no plane."
Audio captured between the man - who was identified as "Rich" - and air traffic controllers show him asking for help to get the cabin pressurised so he would stop feeling so lightheaded.
The air traffic controller can also be heard trying to talk him into landing.
The pilot can also be heard apologising for his actions.
"I've got a lot of people that care about me. It's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologise to each and every one of them," he said.
Fire crews were working on putting out the fire from the crash on Ketron Island in Puget Sound. Ketron Island is a sparsely populated island 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the airport.
The Bombardier Q400 turboprop airplane is designed for shorter-distance flights and can seat 76 passengers, Alaska Air said on its website.
Source: CNA/Agencies/aj/nc
