Q400 UPDATED: Horizon employee used tug to move plane before stealing it, stayed aloft for more than an hour. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, the FBI and Alaska Airlines were headed to Ketron Island on Saturday morning to gather evidence from the site where a Horizon employee crashed a stolen airplane.
Debra Eckrote, NTSB regional chief, said investigators will focus on recovering the voice-data recorder and flight-data recorder from the wreckage. They also will work to recover the remains of the 29-year-old Pierce County man thought to be the only person on the plane.
“We just need to get out there and look at the wreckage,” Eckrote said at a press briefing at the Steilacoom ferry dock. “We might get lucky and find them pretty quick — we may be out there all day.”
FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich-Williams issued a statement Saturday afternoon.
“The FBI is leading the investigation of Friday night’s unauthorized takeoff and crash of a Horizon aircraft,” Dietrich-Williams said. “We are working with the NTSB and countless local and state partners to process the scene of the crash on Ketron Island. We are going to be thorough, which means taking the time needed to scour the area, delve into the background of the individual believed responsible and review every aspect of this incident with all appropriate public and private partners.
“I know there is considerable interest in the subject responsible, but please be patient as we will provide details when we have thoroughly reviewed all available information.”
Alaska Airlines executives said at a news conference at Sea-Tac late Saturday morning that the employee who took the plane was authorized to be both on the tarmac and inside planes and that not security protocols were violated. His work as a ground agent included handling baggage, tidying airplanes and operating tow vehicles to move aircraft, and he was “fully credentialed and had access to that area legitimately.”
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