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'Stolen' plane closes Seattle airport before crashing into sea | 'Stolen' plane closes Seattle airport before crashing into sea |
(35 minutes later) | |
All flights were grounded at Seattle-Tacoma international airport in the US when a passenger plane took off without permission. | All flights were grounded at Seattle-Tacoma international airport in the US when a passenger plane took off without permission. |
Authorities said an airline employee had made "an unauthorised take-off" without any passengers on board. | Authorities said an airline employee had made "an unauthorised take-off" without any passengers on board. |
Officials said the plane later crashed into the sea. The identity and condition of the pilot are not known. | Officials said the plane later crashed into the sea. The identity and condition of the pilot are not known. |
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office said it was "not a terrorist incident", adding the man was local and 29. | |
According to the Seattle Times, air traffic control, who referred to the man by what is believed to be his first name, tried to encourage him to land. | |
The newspaper describes him as sounding "carefree and wild" in the audio. | |
A number of videos on social media show the plane flying over the area in an erratic manner. | |
The plane, a Horizon Air Q400, according to a statement from Horizon's partner airline Alaska Airlines, was immediately pursued by US fighter jets. | |
It crashed on the south of Ketron Island, near a military facility. In the audio recording, the man can be heard starting to worry about how much fuel he had on board. | |
The Q400 is a twin-prop aeroplane with up to 78 seats, depending on configuration. | The Q400 is a twin-prop aeroplane with up to 78 seats, depending on configuration. |
In a statement, the airport said: "An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed." | |
The airport said flights to and from Seattle-Tacoma had resumed. | The airport said flights to and from Seattle-Tacoma had resumed. |