quote [ An airline employee took off in a stolen plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night in an episode that frustrated stranded travelers, riveted witnesses and ended with the plane crashing about 30 miles from the airport, the authorities said. ]
RevealPassenger Plane Stolen by Employee Crashes on Island Near Seattle Airport
By Jacey Fortin and Sarah Mervosh
Aug. 11, 2018
An airline employee took off in a stolen plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night in an episode that frustrated stranded travelers, riveted witnesses and ended with the plane crashing about 30 miles from the airport, the authorities said.
The man, a 29-year-old who acted alone, was thought to be suicidal, said officials in Pierce County, where the plane crashed. No one else was believed to be on the 76-seat plane or injured on the ground.
“An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac,” the airport said in a tweet. “Aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed.”
The stolen plane crashed on Ketron Island, southwest of the airport, and a local television station showed a wooded area in flames that it called a debris field.
Sheriff Paul Pastor of Pierce County told The Associated Press that the man flying the plane “did something foolish and may well have paid with his life.”
The county sheriff’s office said in a tweet: “We know who he is. No others involved.” It added that it was not a terrorist episode, and that two F-15 fighter jets had responded within minutes of the theft.
Sheriff Pastor told The Seattle Times that the flight was “a joy ride gone terribly wrong,” and videos recorded by onlookers on the ground show the plane diving, looping and rolling over the Puget Sound at sunset.
Fire trucks driving onto a ferry in Steilacoom, Wash. They were heading to Ketron Island, where the plane crashed.CreditTed S. Warren/Associated Press
Alaska Airlines said in a statement that it believed that the person who took the plane was a ground service agent employed by Horizon Air, a subsidiary. The takeoff occurred about 8 p.m. and involved a turboprop, a Q400, flying for Horizon. The flight appeared to last just under an hour.
Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington State, tweeted late Friday that there were still “a lot of unknowns” about the tragedy. But he thanked the Air National Guard from Washington and Oregon for quickly sending jets.
“The responding fighter pilots flew alongside the aircraft and were ready to do whatever was needed to protect us, but in the end the man flying the stolen plane crashed,” Mr. Inslee said.
The Seattle airport was brought to a standstill for part of Friday evening, according to radio traffic. On one Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Ore., passengers were stuck on the tarmac after landing and informed by the pilot that there had been an issue with another plane at the airport, and that gates were backed up with 40 planes waiting.
Observers chronicled the plane’s course on social media and listened in to radio traffic in real time. While the stolen plane was still aloft, officials appeared to offer guidance to the man flying the plane.
The man chatted with officials in a frenzied stream of consciousness, commenting on the beauty of the Olympic Mountains, the prospect of jail time and shock at his rapidly fading gas tank. He said he hoped to have a “moment of serenity” in the air but lamented that the sights “went by so fast.” He also talked about doing a barrel roll in the air and wondered aloud about whether the plane could do a back flip.
“I got a lot of people that care about me and it’s gonna disappoint them to hear that I did this,” the man could be heard saying. “I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. Never really knew it until now.”
At one point, an official urged him to land the plane.
The man sputtered.
“I don’t know man,” he said. “I don’t know. I don’t want to. I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it.”
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