‘I am broken’: Man who crashed Alaska Airlines plane told air traffic controllers

Kathua Update Desk

Seattle

The mechanic who stole a Horizon Air plane from a Seattle airport had reportedly told the air traffic controllers that he was a “broken guy”. He also joked about whether the airline would hire him as a pilot if he landed safely.

The man, who was addressed as “Rich” in audio recordings with air traffic controllers, said he didn’t want to land at a nearby military base. “Those guys will rough me up if I try and land there,” he said, according to Associated Press.

Two military F-15 jets were scrambled late Friday after the “suicidal” airline worker stole and later crashed an empty passenger plane from the Seattle-Tacoma airport, local officials said

Local authorities quickly ruled out terrorism as a motive for the incident, and said the F-15s “were not involved in the crash”, according to AFP.

An airline employee “conducted an unauthorized take-off” of an airplane carrying no passengers at the major airport in the northwestern US state of Washington, airport officials said on Twitter.

The aircraft “crashed in south Puget Sound,” Sea-Tac Airport said, adding that normal operations at the transport hub had resumed after a pause.

“This is not a terrorist incident. Confirmed info... this is a single suicide male. We know who he is. No others

“This is not a terrorist incident. Confirmed info... this is a single suicide male. We know who he is. No others involved,” the Pierce County Sheriff said.

(Kathua Update)