Man steals plane from US airport
Mali polls: round two
SEATTLE: A “suicidal” airline employee stole an empty Horizon Air turboprop plane, took off from Seattle-tacoma International Airport, in the US, and was chased by military jets before crashing into a small island in the Puget Sound on Friday night, officials said.
Preliminary information suggested the crash occurred because the 29-year-old man was “doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills”, police said. Spokesperson Ed Troyer said on Twitter the man was suicidal and there was no connection to terrorism.
Video showed the plane doing large loops and other dangerous manoeuvres 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.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane being chased by military aircraft before it crashed on Ketron Island, south-west 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”.
Police were conducting a background investigation on the Washington State resident, whose name was not immediately released.
The man could be heard on audio recordings telling air traffic controllers he is “just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess”.
An air traffic controller called the man “Rich” and tried to convince him to land the plane.
Video showed flames amid trees on the island, which is sparsely populated. – AP/ANA BAMAKO: Mali’s first round of voting last month saw electoral agents killed and voting materials destroyed by extremists linked to al-qaeda. Today the country will go for round two.
Incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita faces off against Soumaila Cisse, who also challenged him in a run-off in 2013.
Nearly 43% of voters made it to the polls on July 29 amid rising insecurity while officials called the vote otherwise well-conducted.
Many Malians worry that the unrest will increase and keep people from voting again.
Mohammed Cisse, an official in Boni in the central Mopti region, said he has rented a house in the capital, Bamako, where he will stay for his safety until the elections are over. Three of his brothers were kidnapped during the first round – accused by neighbours of helping to transport voting materials.
“NGOS bring food for poor families to our village in Boni. I sought this help but surprisingly, people from the villages left to tell Islamists that the cars brought electoral materials,” Cisse told The Associated Press.
“My brothers told me their hands were tied up and the jihadists hit them during interrogations.”
In central Mali, attacks have become more frequent amid communal clashes as neighbours suspect one another of being recruited by extremist groups.
Three electoral agents were seized and killed by extremists the day before the July 29 elections in Boudou, about 40km from the central town of Sevare. The town hosts the new five-nation G5 Sahel counterterror force’s headquarters, which also has been attacked.
The violence has continued into the days before Sunday’s run-off.
Malian authorities have encouraged the public to go to the polls.
“We have increased security,” Colonel Diarran Kone, Mali’s army spokesperson, said. – AP/ANA