2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident
An airplane was stolen by an airport employee, who then was able to take off without permission, and go for a joyride ultimately ending with his suicide.
seatacnoise.infoHere’s a concise update on the latest publicly reported information about the 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident.
- Incident summary: On August 10, 2018, an Horizon Air Dash 8 Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by an employee with no piloting experience. The aircraft was flown for about an hour and 15 minutes before the pilot intentionally crashed on Ketron Island in Puget Sound; there were no other injuries.[3][8]
- Official conclusions: FBI investigations determined the act was deliberate and carried out by a single individual, with terrorism ruled out as a motive; the person took his own life during the incident.[2][3]
- Aftermath details: The FBI and other agencies recovered flight data and cockpit voice recorder components; the incident was treated as an isolated case with no evidence of broader criminal or terrorist activity. Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air and regulatory bodies noted the investigation was thorough and reaffirmed that the incident was isolated to the individual’s actions.[8][3]
Key sources you can consult for more depth:
- Aviation Week: Investigation concludes crash of stolen Horizon Q400 was deliberate.[2]
- Wikipedia: 2018 Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 incident (overview and investigation timeline).[3]
- Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air statement on incident and investigation status.[8]
If you’d like, I can pull the latest official reports or provide a brief timeline of events with citations.