'I'm a broken guy': Airline mechanic steals and crashes plane in US
Seattle: A "suicidal" airline mechanic stole an empty Alaska Airlines plane and took off at an international airport in Washington state before crashing about an hour later near a small island Friday night, officials said.
Preliminary information suggests that the 29-year-old mechanic stole the Horizon Air Q400 at Sea-Tac International Airport and the crash occurred because the person was "doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills," the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.
Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, said on Twitter that the man was suicidal and there was no connection to terrorism. The man is believed to have died in the crash.
The sheriff's department said they were working to conduct a background investigation on the man, 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".
Witnesses reported seeing the plane being chased by military aircraft before it crashed near Ketron Island, southwest of Tacoma, Washington. There were no passengers aboard.
"Told [that two] 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 tweeted.
Alaska Air said the F-15s were scrambled from a Portland airbase.
Horizon Air is part of Alaska Air Group and flies shorter routes throughout the US West. The Q400 ix a turboprop aircraft with 76 seats.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the incident, said 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," Mr Tilden 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.
The US Coast Guard sent a 14-metre vessel to the crash scene after witnesses reported seeing a large plume of smoke in the air, Petty Officer Ali Flockerzi said.
Crisis support can be found at Lifeline: (13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467 and suicidecallbackservice.org.au) and beyondblue (1300 22 4636 and
AAP/Reuters