Chris Cuomo asks the tough questions to newsmakers in Washington and around the world. Chased the plane. So that addresses what Josh Campbell was telling us a second ago. Two f15s chased the plane but were not involved in the crash. So, again, if this is to be believed, the f15s did not shoot that down that play. Lets bring in zack helm. He sat the Seatac Airport right new and joins me on the phone. Zack, i understand you saw this plane while it was airborne . I did not see the plane airborne, but i was this the terminal where it supposedly came out of. Okay. Tell me a little bit what you know, what you saw. Anything you can tell us. Well, i was in the plane, about to take off in the time that it was hijacked. In that very plane . I was not in the plane that was hijacked. I was in another plane in the Alaska Airline industry. And i did not see it take off. But i was told to get out of my plane because if there has been a hijacking. In other words, how long before departure was this . How long before your flight was supposed to take off . We were all boarded and we were about to go on to the runway. We had gotten all the luggage, everyone had been boarded we had been seated, the instructional video had been done, and we were ready to go. And then the news came to us. I in other words, minutes before you guys were going to be airborne. Correct. Minutes before they got all the passengers off your airplane. Correct. Did they tell you why . Yes. They were saying an employee had stolen the plane, had attempted or had tried but crashed the plane. This was coming from the Airline Officials . Yes. So detail that message for us, because honestly, it surprises me. When something goes wrong, when youre airborne or anywhere in an airplane or a plane, usually the officials manning the plane, whether its the stewards, the
captain, usually theyre pretty coy about what they say to the passengers. Right. I think he said that because he was trying to get us safely off the plane so Nothing Happened while we were land. All right. So he told you. I just want to doublecheck with this. He told you an employee had hijacked a plane and was in the air, and thats why everybody had to get out . Yes. What happened after that . We all got off the plane into the terminal, like every other airline, or Alaska Airlines flight and we waited in the terminal. So at this point im assuming that the terminal is starting to fill up as this is happening to all the planes around you that were scheduled to take off roughly in that time slot. Right. All right. Okay, thanks. Stay with me for a second. Were pulling in all the threads of information here. Were working on this as i speak to you and Josh Campbell as well. What were getting now from the Pierce County sheriff, and thats where all the previous
information came to us from is this is not a terrorist incident. Confirmed info, this is a single suicide male. We know who he is. No others involved. Okay. Zack, let me just go to you for a second. You were minutes away from finding yourself airborne. With apparently a suicidal plane. Just how do you feel . Kind of scary to think about. Yeah. Were you traveling alone . I was traveling with my mom, but shes not sitting next to me. Okay. What is she saying . She was pretty mellow. She was kind of she was feeling good that we were safe in the terminal. All right. Okay. Zack helm, look, thank you so much for giving us your story and twhoopd you at seattletacoma airport. Thats great. Zach, well speak to you a little later. Thanks a again. Now i want to read this tweet byAlaska Airlines. Weve confirmed a Horizon Air Q400 that had an unauthorized takeoff from seatac around 8 00 p. M. Has gone down near tetron island in Pierce County, washington. Were working to confirm who was on board. We believe there were no guests or crew on board other than the person operating the plane. First of all, if that is true, let me just say that is a relief. No passengers. We are obviously keeping our fingers crossed that that indeed turns out to be true. Turns out to be accurate. No passengers, no other staff on board. Let me go back to josh. Josh, there are so many things about this story that are striking. Is it how easy it is to how easy is it to take off in a q400. Im just looking at a picture of the plane. Were not talking about a tiny plane. A little less skill than a jet aircraft. You think of the larger jumbo
jets flying in and out of seatac and some of the Major International airports. One thing that is interesting to keep in mind, just for the public that had flown, that are used to these airports and kind of the ins and outs of commercial flying, if you think about it, if a mechanic were to try to hijack an airport that was sitting at a commercial gate, there is no way that a mechanic could make his or her way into the cockpit and then somehow, you know, back the plane up from a gate. It doesnt happen that way. These aircraft are pushed out by a team of Ground Personnel that gives me a little more comfort obviously. This is a very serious security breach, but this tells me that this is likely an aircraft that was sitting at a hangar somewhere, that may have been undergoing routine maintenance, may have been part where they sit and wait to come into the get for an aircraft to take off the next day. But this isnt like it was sitting at a gate, waiting to take off full of passengers. There is no way one person can do that, to make that take place, which makes it probably more an aircraft that is sitting in a hangar that is under maintenance that this person had access to probably in the course of his or her duties was able to get on board the aircraft, was able to manipulate the controls, was able to get it out to the runway and up to speed. Obviously a tragic situation. Were sitting here look agent that plane crash. Well dont know what the circumstances are there on the ground in Pierce County, if there are other people that may have been impacted. At least the best case, if there is one that you compare to an aircraft that is full of passengers. Thats good news. The second being this is something that aircraft employee, not only there in seattle, but ntsb, airline employees around the country, indeed around the world are going to be looking at. Because the one thing theyre always trying to determine is what is the threat, what is the risk that we have here. And again, any operation is only as safe as the men and women that are actually involved in it. And airline employees and pilots will actually undergo
psychological screening. Its a little less so obviously for mechanics because they dont have the same type of access, the same type of control when youre involving other people, other passengers, other souls aboard aircraft. But obviously very serious. If somebody who has access to an aircraft is able to get it off the ground and it becomes airborne if they have other sinister means that theyre attempting to employee, thats obviously a very dangerous threat to the Public Safety. Again, there are a lot of questions that we have right now. A lot of answers that we dont have. I think the only silver lining, and obviously this is a tragedy, but you didnt have somebody that appeared to be trying to take off and vector that aircraft the a large highly populated area that would then cause massive life of life. We dont know. We cant get into this persons mind. No, no. And im looking at pictures of Ketron Island. Its very low density population. Fingers crossed. We dont know what the situation is on the ground. Obviously there is was plane
crash and thats dangerous. Just from the pictures it looks like to is a distinct possibility that this could have landed in the forest and not killed anymore. Josh campbell, thank you so much. Im going to bring the latest information to our viewers. The Pierce County sheriff is tweeting, and sheriff, we hear you loud and clear. He is saying im working with the fbi and military. All the information sent out here is confirmed. Sheriff paul pastor will be the contact. Here whats we know at what is still a fairly early hour in this developing story. We know that a plane was stolen. It was stolen by a mechanic working at seatac. Thats the Seattletacoma International Airport in washington state. Northwestern United States for our international viewers. That plane took off, and two f15 fighter jets were scrambled, but they did not shoot it down, again, according to the county sheriff. They were not involved in the crash. The reason the plane crashed, according to the sheriff, is because of the lack of flying
skills of the mechanic who had taken it and flown the plane in the first place. Al also vital information, there were no passengers and staff, no one else aboard this plane. It was a q400. David soucie, from denver, colorado. Tell us a little more about the plane, the q400. Its a twin turboprop. Its one that has had some kind of issues with some icing and things like that in the past. But its a great airport. Its a good backbone airport for a lot of Commuter Airlines right now. Have you ever seen anything like this . Have you ever been called up to report on a story that even remotely resembles this one . Yeah, ive investigated an accident like this one time. A Suicide Flight . Well, it wasnt really a Suicide Flight. As josh was saying, it may have just been from the lack of skill of the mechanic. But mechanics often routinely
can take airplanes up. If you have lack of skill and you dont know how to fly a plane and you steal a plane, thats what many see as a Suicide Flight because youre not going to land it. Thats a good possibility, but we dont know what he was thinking and doing. I would be more concerned about his intent. And again, it would have been suicide. But i think the Public Safety issue is the biggest concern of anyone right now. What was his intent when he took that airport. It wasnt just for a joy flight, thats for sure. If there is suicide, there is other ways to go. What do you mean by what was his intent . It was his intent to get the airport up and put into it a populated area. The Public Safety is my biggest concern because he has a weapon on his hands at that point. And it could very well be dangerous for many people on the ground. What is your thinking based on what we know . And i know its sketchy. Well, its too early to say anything really as we dont know
what he was doing. But my early take on this is that the mechanic has it is a vulnerability for the airlines and for our whole industry right now is that the ability for a mechanic to take an aircraft out alone. Now, there is protocol where he should not have been in that airplane alone at all. If he was taxiing out and asked for clearance to get to the taxi way, that airplane would have been stopped long before it got a runway to take off and should have been at seatac, unless he was telling the tower or something different. Telling them a story that ive got to go out and run this aircraft. Im going to test the engines, et cetera, et cetera. Mechanics have pretty free rein to do that. And so this one went a little bit further. So when you say when you say this was a vulnerability for the industry, do you mean that before today, you had it in mind that mechanics were perhaps in a kind of were in a position to super lotto a loophole or
weakness in the Security System . Yes, i do. I think thats something that it is something ive thought of before. Its something that Security Experts have talked about before, and thats why there is protocol that the no mechanic should be taxiing a mechanic on a runway or anywhere on the tarmac without two niam the aircraft. So how he got in that aircraft himself, by himself and got clearance to go out, thats the vulnerability, the fact that they didnt follow protocol there needs to be tightened rein on. This. David, stay with me. I want to bring you updates. Theyre coming to us from the Pierce County sheriff. First of all, the last one that he put up was just moments ago. All right. So this one first. Follow this thread for official info. This is not a terrorist incident. Confirmed info. This is a single suicide male. We know who he is. No others involved. Thats important. Not a terrorist incident. David, i know youre saying he has that improvised pilot, that
mechanic cum pilot had a weapon in his hands. But the sheriff is telling us that theyre working background on him. He is a 29yearold suicidal male, and this was not a terrorist incident. I also want to bring you this last tweet by the sheriff. Told that the f15s made it within a few minutes of theft of the plane. The pilots kept plane out of harms way, and people on the ground are safe. Yay, air force. They may not admit for a few days, but its true. That has to put a smile on anybodys face that has been following this story. Yes, absolutely. Ever since 9 11, the Response Time of these military jets is so quick, especially around that seattle area and around any large metropolitan area. If there is an. They is off radar, if there is an aircraft that is not supposed to be there, does not have authorization, its amazing how quickly they can respond to that. Thats what protocol for
that . What are they supposed to do . The protocol is to fly and monitor. And you fly and monitor to see what the direction of the aircraft. You identity what the hazard areas are, when they go over highly Populated Areas and that sort of thing. So the aircraft, they try to guide the eight, to get close to it on one side and push the aircraft one way or the other, making the pilot nervous to say im going to get hit if i keep going that way. So they guide them away from the city, guide them away. And if the aircraft is not in eminent danger to a high population, theyll just let that aircraft fly and run out of gas if it has to. But if its going to harm anything anyone at that point, they are authorized to shoot that aircraft down. David, stay with me. Were going to take a quick break, and ill speak to you right on the back of this. In the u. S. Park its americas most popular street name. But Allstate Agents know thats where the similarity stops. If youre on park street in reno, nevada, the high winds of the Washoe Zephyr could damage your siding. And thats very different than living on park ave in sheboygan, wisconsin, where ice dams could cause water damage. But no matter what park you live on, one of 10,000 local Allstate Agents knows yours. Now that you know the truth, are you in good hands . When you rent from national. Its kind of like playing your own version of best ball. Because here, you can choose any car in the aisle, even if its a better car class than the one you reserved. So no matter what, youre guaranteed to have a perfect drive. [laughter] vo go national. Go like a pro. See what i did there . Its a revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed, from 999. Intelligently senses your movement and automatically adjusts on each side to keep you both comfortable. And snoring . How smart is that . Smarter sleep. To help you lose your dad bod, train for that marathon, and wake up with the patience of a saint. And now, save up to 500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. Plus, no interest until january 2021. Ends wednesday. It was a quq400. David, let me remind the people what we know. Were being told it was Mecke Frick The Airport who stole the plane. He was 29 years old. He was from Pierce County. The Sheriffs Department is currently working background on him. More importantly, they were saying this is not a terrorist incident. This was a Suicide Flight mission. Also of key importance here, there was no one else on the plane with him. So no one else was killed in the crash. And no one else on the ground. And two f15s, two f15 fighter jets were scrambled. And they steered the plane away from a danger zone. Thats what were being told by the Pierce CountySheriffs Department. Tells us a little bit about how that works. You were telling us before the break. Yes, they box the aircraft in. And im not sure how fast or how
quickly this aircraft was traveling through the air. But those particular aircraft are able to go to different speeds, and theyll actually bank to the aircraft. No matter where the pilot looks, he is not going to steer into the jets. Theyre very, very ominous. Thinking that he could fly one way or the other. Now the only thing that concerns me than, if i was in those airplanes is this f this is a mechanic who is not an experienced pilot. Yeah, how does he react to that. Probably move a little farther away, but trying to keep that aircraft into the right area. Okay. The pictures were seeing, its hard to judge the side of the perimeter where were seeing flames and plane debris. Fortunately, Ketron Island where it landed is a very low density, low population area. Are you seeing the pick checks, david, that im seeing . No, i cant see them right now. I did earlier. Its nighttime. Were seeing flames in the forest. I was just going to ask you what the danger was. And we dont know the specifics of the speed at which the plane was flying, et cetera. But in a crash like that of how far, how wide a perimeter is endangered when a Plane Crashes like that. Well, it depends on the angle of attack. If its going in more perpendicular, it can vary from even the 737 crash in Colorado Springs here was only a Scatte