Stolen plane chased by F-15 fighters
A“suicidal” airline mechanic 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 yesterday.
Preliminary information suggests the crash occurred because the 29-year-old mechanic was “doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said.
Spokesman Ed Troyer 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 manoeuvres.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane being chased by military aircraft before it crashed on Ketron Island. 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 investigating the Pierce County resident, whose name was not immediately released.
The man could be heard on audio recordings telling air traffic controllers that he is “just a broken guy”.
An air traffic controller called the man “Rich”, and tried to convince the man to land the aeroplane.
“There is a runway just off to your right side in about a mile,” the controller says, referring to an airfield at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“Oh man. Those guys will rough me up if I try and land there,” the man responded, later adding, “This is probably jail time for life, huh?”
Later the man said: “I’ve got a lot of people that care about me. It’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this . . . Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess.”
Flights out of Sea-Tac, the largest commercial airport in the Pacific Northwest, were temporarily grounded during the drama.
Royal King told the Seattle Times he was photographing a wedding when he saw the low-flying turboprop being chased by two F-15s. Horizon Air is part of Alaska Air Group and flies shorter routes throughout the US West. The Q400 is a 76-seat turboprop aircraft.