An investigation continued Sunday into the bizarre incident in which an apparently suicidal man commandeered an empty commercial aircraft from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a joy ride before crashing the plane into an island. Here's what we know: What happened Authorities said a Horizon Air employee stole an airplane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and died when he later crashed the aircraft. He is believed to have died when the plane crashed into Ketron Island, about 30 miles south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, setting off a large forest fire. Who did it? Richard Russell, 29, worked for Horizon Air, helping to handle luggage and towing aircraft. Authorities say he had worked Friday and was in uniform when he got into the cockpit of a Horizon Airlines Bombardier Q400 plane and took off for an hour-long ride. His job included directing aircraft for takeoff and gate approach, handling baggage and tidying and de-icing planes, according to CNN. What is Horizon Air? The regional airline operates under the Alaska Airlines name, flying to 45 cities in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta. Horizon Air has a CEO, employees and a job posting website, with openings for pilots, flight attendants, ground service agents and mechanics. It doesn't have a website for booking flights as the regional airline was purchased by Alaska in 1986, and operates within the Alaska system. Security issues If an airline employee can steal a plane and take it for a ride, then what does that say about airport security? "The greatest threat we have to aviation is the insider threat," former FBI agent Erroll Southers told the Associated Press. "Here we have an employee who was vetted to the level to have access to the aircraft and had a skill set proficient enough to take off with that plane." Brad Tilden, the CEO of Alaska Airlines said Russell and other Alaska employees are credentialed. "They're there to work on the airplanes. ... This is aviation in America. The doors of the airplanes are not keyed like a car. There is not an ignition key like a car. The setup in aviation in America is we secure the airfield." More:Family of Richard Russell, who stole airliner and crashed it, say they are 'stunned and heartbroken' More:Who is Richard Russell? Man who stole commercial plane from a Washington airport identified<doc-sep>A 29-year-old man stole a Horizon Air passenger plane from Sea-Tac International Airport and took off on Friday night, circling the area for a short time and performing stunts while being chased by military jets before crashing near Tacoma. The unnamed man flying the twin-engine turboprop engaged in an hour-long back and forth negotiation with air traffic control where he mentioned not intending to land the aircraft, before the fiery crash on Ketron Island in North Pierce County, just south of Tacoma. Reportedly no passengers or other personnel on board, but firefighters are still combing through the wreckage. Witnesses report that the employee, who identified himself to authorities as a ground service crew worker, did loops in the air around Pierce County before crashing. The crash started a few small fires in the area, which West Pierce Fire Department upgraded to a two-alarm fire at 10:44 p.m., sending more units to the area. RELATED: 'This is probably jail time for life, huh': Pilot of stolen plane talks with air traffic controller (audio) Ed Troyer, Public Information Officer for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Twitter that the pilot of the plane was a "suicidal male. Acting alone." He had been identified by authorities as a resident of Pierce County, though his name has not been released Friday. Troyer said they are "working background on him now." Troyer added they do not believe this to be "a terrorist incident." "I've got a lot of people that care about me," the man said in audio obtained from Air Traffic Control radio communications. "It's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never knew it, until now." LISTEN: Around 11:30 p.m. Gov. Jay Inslee released a statement saying, "I want to thank the Air National Guard from Washington and Oregon for scrambling jets to keep Washingtonians safe. Those pilots are trained for moments like tonight and showed they are ready and capable." Sea-Tac Airport was put on ground stop due to the incident, according to Alaska Airlines. At 9:31 p.m. Sea-Tac Airport confirmed via Twitter that an airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers, and that normal operations had resumed. Some planes were still being rerouted, however. Flight Alerts reported at 10:32 p.m. that flights from San Francisco, Honolulu, and Los Angeles were being diverted to Portland. At 11 p.m. Horizon Air Chief Operating Officer Constance von Muehlen shared in a video update that the company believe that the man was a Horizon Air employee. "Our hearts are with the family of the individual aboard, as well as all our Alaska Air and Horizon Air employees," she said. "We will provide more information as it becomes available." Alaska Airlines, which operates Horizon Air, initially confirmed reports in a tweet, noting that they were "...aware of the incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400." Alaska Airlines's tweets also noted that they believed no passengers were on board of the flight, though just after 10 p.m. they said they were still working to confirm there were "no guests or crew on board other than the person operating the plane." KOMO News reports that a source from Joint-Base Lewis McCord confirmed that two F-15 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the rogue aircraft, and force the Horizon plane to land. According to the KOMO News, "The source says the military jet made contact with the stolen plane, which then began to nose dive and crashed in North Pierce County." The Pierce County Sheriff's office was reportedly told that the F-15s made it within "...a few minutes of theft of plane. Pilots kept plane out of harms [sic] way and people on ground safe." Several news outlets report that the two military planes departed from Portland to intercept the aircraft, and were "not involved in the crash." "Preliminary info is that a mechanic from unknown airlines stole plane," Troyer shared on Twitter. "Was doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash into Island." Just before midnight, Troyer announced that the investigation would be handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI said they also had no reason to suspect that this was an act of terrorism or further pending criminal activity. RELATED: The latest on the Sea-Tac unauthorized take-off from Associated Press In earlier Air Traffic Control communications, the suspect asked questions like, "Alright, um, I just kinda want to do a couple of maneuvers to see what it can do before I put her down, you know?" He also said, "I wouldn't know how to land it. I wasn't really planning on landing it." "Man, I'm sorry about this, I hope this doesn't ruin your day," he said later. "It's a blast, I've played video games before, so I, uh, know what I'm doing a little bit." At one point the air traffic controller pointed the pilot of the stolen aircraft towards the runway at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), to which he responded, "Aw those guys will rough me up if I tried landing there. I think I might mess something up there too. I wouldn't want to do that. Hopefully — oh they probably got anti-aircraft." "No they don't have any of that stuff, we're just trying to find a place for you to land safely," the controller responded. Although official accounts were slow to confirm reports of the unauthorized takeoff, many passengers at Sea-Tac took to social media to report that pilots had informed them of the plane theft. "Halfway down the runway on Alaska airlines out of Seattle and the pilot slams on the brakes and shares we must go back to the gate," one wrote. Here, the air traffic controller is trying to talk him into landing. pic.twitter.com/OxEe5T6JHJ — Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018 "Sitting on the runway at SeaTac, preparing for departure. Before takeoff, the pilot explains someone stole an airplane, and is flying around near Mt. Rainier." another shared on social media, adding, "They've been in contact with the culprit. He doesn't sound confident in his ability to land back at SeaTac. They are grounding all planes and waiting." The airplane was a Horizon Air Q400, a turboprop, twin engine aircraft with 76 seats. Horizon Air is a division of Alaska Air Group. This story is developing. It will be updated as more information becomes available.<doc-sep>On Saturday morning, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that President Trump was monitoring the situation. “Federal authorities are assisting with the ongoing investigation, which is being led by local authorities,” the statement said. “We commend the interagency response effort for their swift action and protection of public safety.” Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington State tweeted late Friday that there were still “a lot of unknowns” about the tragedy. But he thanked the Air National Guard from Washington and Oregon for quickly sending the jets. “The responding fighter pilots flew alongside the aircraft and were ready to do whatever was needed to protect us, but in the end the man flying the stolen plane crashed,” Mr. Inslee said. Air traffic controllers communicated with the pilot to try to help him land safely, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The Seattle airport was brought to a standstill for part of Friday evening. On one Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Ore., passengers were stuck on the tarmac after landing and informed by the pilot that there had been an issue with another plane at the airport, and that gates were backed up with 40 planes waiting. According to the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, Sea-Tac hosts more than 30 airlines with nonstop service to more than 90 domestic destinations, and almost 30 cities abroad. The F.A.A. ranked it the ninth-busiest airport in the United States for passenger traffic in 2017. Observers chronicled the plane’s course on social media and listened in to radio traffic in real time. While the plane was still aloft, the man flying it chatted with officials in a frenzied stream of consciousness, commenting on the beauty of the Olympic Mountains, the prospect of jail time and shock at his rapidly fading gas tank.<doc-sep>
An airport mechanic hijacked a plane at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night right before it crashed into the Puget Sound in Washington An airline employee allegedly hijacked a plane at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night right before it crashed into the Puget Sound in Washington. The man, who was called Rich by air traffic control personnel, is an Alaska Air Horizon employee who allegedly stole a Horizon Air Q400, shutting down the airport temporarily. In a statement released on Twitter, Sea-Tac Airport confirmed the reports of an “unauthorized takeoff.” “An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without permission at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound,” the tweet read. “Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed.” steilacoom Credit: Ted S Warren/AP/Shutterstock In a statement to PEOPLE, Alaska Airlines said, “We are aware of an incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. We believe there are no passengers on board. More information as we learn more.” It is unclear if Rich survived the crash. Pierce County Sheriff said the hijacking was not a “terrorist incident”. “Male is confirmed a suicidal male. Acted alone he is 29-year-old Pierce county residence [sic],” the department tweeted. According to the Associated Press, investigators are currently looking into how he could have stolen the plane. Stolen_Plane_Steilacoom_USA_9787495E Credit: Ted S Warren/AP/Shutterstock The air drama was broadcast live over air traffic control monitoring sites. During the radio exchange, an air traffic control personnel by the name of Captain Bill attempted to steer Rich away from flying over the airport in order to avoid a collision that would risk the lives of multiple people. “I feel like one of my engines has gone out,” Rich told the captain as he flew the empty plane. Rich then offered to do a barrel roll, however, Bill, whose last name was not immediately available, told him that was not advisable. Instead, Bill told him to fly over the water in order to avoid hitting people. “Well done, now let’s get you on the ground so you don’t hurt anyone,” Bill told Rich as the mechanic followed his instructions. Despite Bill’s attempts to get Rich and the plane on the ground, the airline employee refused. “I don’t know man,” Rich said. “I don’t wanna, I don’t know.” Rich seemed more positive about landing at another point in their conversation “Hey, do you think if I land this successfully Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?” he joked. He continued, speaking about his actions to Bill. “I’ve got a lot of people that care about me. It’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this,” Rich said. “I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. Never really knew it, until now.” As Rich flew over the water, two F-15 fighter jets were dispatched to intercept the plane. Two military F-15 chased plane but was not involved in the crash, the sheriff’s department tweeted. The plane was seen by a number of witnesses doing stunts before crashing. People who witnessed the incident shared videos on Twitter. One user tweeted, “Some dude stole a plane from #Seatac (Allegedly), did a loop-the-loop, ALMOST crashed into #ChambersBay, then crossed in front of our party, chased by fighter jets and subsequently crashed. Weird times.”