an aircraft crashed near seattle, washington, after a mechanic stole it from the main airport. the plane went down on ketron island. 40 mild or 65 kilometer thousands, southwest of the airport. the aircraft took off without authorization or passengers. the person at the controls of the plane. this is what we know. that person identified as a 29-year-old horizon air mechanic from pierce county, washington, according to officials who say they are doing background on him. it is believed that the mechanic s lack of flying skills. and in other words he didn t know how to fly the plane well. that s what led to the crash the he knew enough to take off. not enough to land it. the pierce county sheriff says this was not a terrorism related incident. this was a suicide flight. horizon air issued a statement following the crash. here is, horizon air chief
operating officer constance van mulen. good evening, i am the horizon air chief operating officer. i am sorry to share with you this evening that approximately 8:00 p.m. one of our q-400 airplanes made an unauthorized takeoff from sea-tac airport. we believe it was taken by a single horizon air employee and no other passengers or crew were on board. shortly thereafter, it crashed near ketron island by south tacoma. our hearts are with the family of the individual aboard as well as all of our alaska air and horizon air employees. we ll provide more information as it becomes available. analyst josh campbell joins us on the phone from corona island, california. josh, it seems fortunate, if we believe this story that indeed the mechanic is this was a