A Horizon Air Q400 plane, flown without Seattle Airport traffic controller authorization, reportedly performed several aerobatic tricks and crashed after at least one F-15 jet was sent to intercept it, officials confirmed.
A mechanic “from unknown airlines” stole the aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night, the Pierce County sheriff said in a statement. “[The man was] doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash” on Ketron Island.
The plane was chased by two F-15 fighter jets that were scrambled by North American Aerospace Defense Command to deal with the incident. While the jets were in pursuit of the small plane, air traffic control helped the rogue plane stay clear of the Seattle cosmopolitan area. “Told F 15s made it within a few minutes of theft of plane. Pilots kept plane out of harms way and people on ground safe [sic],” the sheriff tweeted.
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