Washington, Aug 11 : An plane has crashed after it was stolen by a ground employee from an airport in Washington state, authorities said.
North American Aerospace Defence Command scrambled fighter jets on Friday night to accompany the Horizon Airlines plane, which was steered away from Seattle and Tacoma by air traffic control, on its hour-long flight, ABC News reported.
The crash took place on Ketron Island, southwest of Tacoma. The small island has only about 20 year-round residents.
The employee who stole the plane from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was 29 years old, from Pierce County and called "suicidal" by the sheriff's department.
The department clarified that this was not a terrorist incident. "Most terrorists don't do loops over the water," Sheriff Paul Pastor said. "This might have been a joyride gone terribly wrong."
"Stolen horizon airplane crashed into Ketron island. Preliminary info is that a mechanic from unknown airlines stole plane. Was doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash into Island," Pastor tweeted.
The plane, a Bombardier Dash 8 - Q400, has the capability to hold about 75 passengers and is used for short travel. The FBI said it was in contact with officials, but it was too early for them to comment on specifics.
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Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15 (PTI): The Kerala government has decided to declare as ‘deceased’ the people who went missing in the devastating landslide in Wayanad last year which will help provide compensation to their families.
The decision comes as a huge relief to the kin of people who were reported missing in the disaster.
As per a government order issued on Tuesday, local, district and state level committees will be formed including revenue department officials to examine the list of missing people.
The local level committee includes the panchayat secretary, village officer and station house officer of respective police stations. The committee will prepare a list of missing people and submit it to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for scrutiny.
The DDMA will examine the list and forward it to the state-level committee with its suggestions. The state level committee, comprising additional chief secretary (home) and principal secretaries of revenue and local self-government, will examine the list and forward it to the government, the order said.
The government will subsequently issue an order declaring them as dead and providing ex-gratia to their close relatives.
According to official record, 263 people were dead and 35 people were reported missing in the landslides that occurred on July 30 last year. The order directs the local level committee to closely examine the FIRs filed in connection with the missing people in the respective police stations.
The tahsildar or sub-divisional magistrate should conduct a detailed enquiry about the missing person and the findings will be published on the official website and government gazette.
A 30-day period will be given for filing any objections, after which the list of missing people will be published and death certificates issued to their immediate relatives, the order said.