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Stolen plane crashes near Seattle

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Update: 2018-08-11 01:12:18
Stolen plane crashes near Seattle Photo: collected

An empty Horizon Airlines plane has crashed after it was stolen by a ground employee from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night, according to a senior federal aviation source.

North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled fighter jets to accompany the plane, which was steered away from Seattle and Tacoma by air traffic control, according to the source. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said the two F-15s were not involved in the crash.

The crash happened on Ketron Island, which is southwest of Tacoma, in south Puget Sound. The small island has only a few homes.

The employee who stole the plane was 29 years old, from Pierce County and called "suicidal" by the sheriff's department. It clarified this was not a terrorist incident.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department has a number of vessels on scene, while the U.S. Coast Guard is on scene as well.
The Pierce County Sheriff tweeted, "Stolen horizon airplane crashed into Ketron island. Preliminary info is that a mechanic from unknown airlines stole plane. Was doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash into Island."

Alaska Airlines tweeted about an incident involving an "unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. They said there were no passengers on board. Horizon Air is operated by Alaska Air Group.
The plane, a Bombardier Dash 8 - Q400, has the capability to hold about 75 passengers and is used for short travel in the West.

Many passengers awaiting takeoff tweeted that their planes were stopped on the ground during the incident.

Sea-Tac confirmed an airline employee took off without passengers and tweeted normal operations had resumed by 9:30 p.m. local time.

Source: ABC News

BDST: 1111 HRS, AUG 11, 2018
SI

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