Stolen DHC8-400 Crashes in Seattle

I don’t know what to say… :astonished:

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2018/08/11/us/plane-crash-unauthorized-takeoff/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F

I was just reading up on this, what a tragedy…

Just horrible!
We can be thankful that he didn’t take more people with him.

Sad story. At least nobody else was hurt but his radio transmission sure sounds as if he didn’t want to live through that experience.

Next up: Discussion in the media started by some idiots wanting to ban flight sims because surely he couldn’t have taken off without training otherwise. (Perhaps he had other training but people assume such things)

I welcome that discussion. Anyway, I got about 2/3s through my NY Times before I saw this story. To me, that is good news. It shows that in less sensational coverage, there is now some proportion. Suicide is tragic, but not front page material.

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Did he actually crash or was he shot down?

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They were saying that the F15’s were not involved in the crash. I’m thinking he probably just lost control. Very sad.

Looking at the videos, he must have put some severe stress to that airframe… And he was very close at one time.

The BBC apparently quoted an eyewitness as saying he ‘completed a full loop’ - I didn’t think a Q400 could do that. It would certainly stress the airframe.

Any airplane can be looped at 2.5g (the certification limit of a Transport Category Airplane). It won’t be pretty mind you. But to the non-discriminating eye, it will look just fine.

Very sad. Good that he didn’t hurt anyone else.

I’ve probably traveled on that aircraft - flew a lot of Seattle/Vancouver on Horizon/Air Alaska Q400’s.

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First reports I read this morning said he was MX going to do a test run. If you know how to do a test run you know how to take off. How to properly land it and fly IAW procedures might be a different story. MX usually also has access to all the manuals so he could have been reading up on the AOM.

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MX???

MX = Maintenance. Although I’ve read in some local papers he was a baggage handler as well, but if he has access to youtube then he could probably start up a Q400.

Thanks FF! I read he was a baggage handler too. Must be more to it than that. To start a twin, go thru ATC, and take off.

Oh well, sad story. Glad he didn’t hurt anyone else.

q400 is an unwieldy beast but relatively simple to start and get going in my non-actual-flying-person opinion.

Ah yes, this was in the early morning when it was just released. people on the aviation subreddit had been going through the audio recordings and stuff like that. Haven’t read further up on it honestly. I think I prefer the eventual NTSB/FAA report.

I take it back. The national freakout has occurred. I guess I gave my countrymen too much credit.

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I haven’t read anything… Are people saying he learned how to fly on flightsims?
I was thinking maybe, as an employee, he had jump seated and observed. There are even cockpit DVDs around, showing how to start the thing. I mean, it’s not exactly brain surgery…