FAA, FBI and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating the crash of a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop in woodland on Ketron Island near Tacoma, Washington, around 1.5 hr after it was stolen by an airline employee, believed to be a ground service agent.
The incident began around 8pm Pacific on Aug 10, when a Q400 made an unauthorized takeoff from Seattle’s SeaTac International airport.
Although details remain scant at this time, operations at SeaTac were temporarily shut down and two Air National Guard F-15Cs, call sign Rock 41 and 42, from the 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland, Oregon, were scrambled to intercept the Q400. A U.S.
Air Force KC-135R tanker was also dispatched from Fairchild AFB to support the F-15s.
Just after 10pm Pacific, Horizon parent company Alaska Airlines tweeted confirmation that a Horizon Air Q400 that had an unauthorized takeoff from SeaTac around 8pm has gone down near Ketron Island in Pierce County, WA.
We’re working to confirm who was on board, we believe there were no guests or crew on board other than the person operating the plane.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Department also tweeted that the suspect is confirmed a suicidal male. Acted alone he is 29-year-old Pierce County resident. We are working background on him now.
Officials indicate the aircraft crashed due to pilot action and was not forced or shot down.
The airline is working to confirm who was on board, but it is believed that there were no passengers or crew on board other than the person operating the plane.
Alaska Airlines believes a ground service agent employed by Horizon Air was the individual responsible for flying the Horizon Q400 without clearance from Sea-Tac International Airport around 8 p.m. tonight.
The plane, which was taken from a maintenance position and was not scheduled for passenger flight, crashed about an hour later in a wooded area on Ketron Island in rural Pierce County.
No ground structures were involved at the crash site.
Military jets were scrambled from Portland, but it does not appear that these jets were involved in the crash of the Horizon aircraft.
First responders are at the crash site. Appropriate government agencies, including NTSB, FAA and FBI, have been notified.
A brief statement from Constance von Muehlen of Horizon Air regarding tonight’s incident:
Good evening, I’m Constance von Muehlen, Horizon Air chief operating officer. I’m sorry to share with you this evening that at approximately 8 p.m., one of our Q400 airplanes made an unauthorized takeoff from Sea-Tac Airport. We believe it was taken by a single Horizon Air employee and that no other passengers or crew were onboard. Shortly thereafter, it crashed on Ketron Island by South Tacoma. Our hearts are with the families of the individual aboard as well as all of our Alaska Air and Horizon Air employees. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Shortly after he stole an airplane from his employer, Horizon Air ground service agent Richard Russell barreled down a runway, took off and flew the two-engine turboprop above the Puget Sound, flying in dramatic loops before crashing in a wooded area.
Washington State governor Jay Inslee later confirmed the events in a statement. There are still a lot of unknowns surrounding tonight’s tragic incident of a stolen Horizon Air plane from SeaTac Airport.
The responding fighter pilots flew alongside the aircraft and we were ready to do whatever was needed to protect us, but in the end, the man flying the stolen plane crashed on Ketron Island.
The aircraft, registered N449QX, was delivered to Horizon in June 2012, and, according to the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, had earlier that day operated scheduled flights to and from Victoria, on Canada’s Vancouver Island.
Prior to crashing, the aircraft was filmed conducting extreme maneuvers over the Puget Sound, including a barrel roll and inverted vertical dive culminating in a high g pull-out just a few feet above the water’s surface.
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