Two men over the past few days took their own lives by using airplanes as instruments of their own deaths. Last Friday, a Horizon Air employee stole a Bombardier Q400 turboprop from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and took it on an hour-long joyride that included aerobatics before crashing the airplane on Kentron Island in Puget Sound. Horizon Air is owned by Alaska Airlines. Early Monday morning a man in Utah stole a Citation CJ from Spanish Fork Airport (SPK) and crashed it into his own home located near Payson. While the pilot died, no one on the ground was injured.
Two Suicides by Airplane in Four Days
Key Takeaways:
- Two separate incidents recently involved men stealing airplanes and using them to commit suicide, resulting in no ground injuries in either case.
- In Seattle, an unlicensed Horizon Air ground service agent stole a Bombardier Q400 turboprop, flew it erratically for an hour, and crashed, communicating his distress to air traffic control.
- In Utah, an experienced pilot, recently released from jail for domestic violence, stole a Cessna Citation CJ and crashed it into his own home.
- Psychologists expressed concern that the second incident might have been a copycat event and warned of the potential for more such occurrences.
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