T1B

Sad story last night. Apparently a mechanic for Alaska Airlines took a Q-400 for a ride around the Seattle area. No pax were on or near the plane at the time. F-15s were scrambled out of PDX to follow and observe. Sounds like the guy just wanted to commit suicide.


Here is the blog post from the airline with updates as they learn more.

https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airli ... -aircraft/


In addition there is audio of ATC from the situation. It is about 25 minutes long and it is a compilation of approach, tower and ground, so there is a ton of other chatter as landing continued, departures were stopped.

http://garchives1.broadcastify.com/1522 ... -15227.mp3

Right off the hop, you can hear him asking about weather. Dude's name is Rich. You can tell when it is him as they address him by name instead of callsign and flight number.

2:16 - he talks about disappointing friends and family

3:50 - talks about the Olympic mountains

4:15 - he asks if the plane can do a full loop

5:15 - he talks about doing a barrel roll

7:15 - talking about the heading bug, then Rich says he is light headed and dizzy

8:20 - pilot is giving him info about a/c settings and pressurization

11:36 - talks about fuel state

12:30 - barrell rolls, ATC says no need to do that

13:19 - He says he wouldn't mind shooting the shit with ATC for awhile

14:20 - asking about altitude for a barrel roll. (dude is using roll for what should be a loop)

16:50 - congrats on a loop, time to land and not hurt anyone on the ground. Rich says he is conflicted, kinda hoped that would be the end of it

18:50 - Rich feels like his engine is going out

Sad story all around.

Better condensed audio with him from Seattle PI.

Audio is embedded in the story.

https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/a ... wsource=cl

Left Seater wrote:2:16 - he talks about disappointing friends and family.

Like most everyone on this board. No need to kill himself.

Crazy, lucky no one else died.

Left Seater wrote: Sad story all around.

Indeed.

It wasn't rooster.



:cry:

Papa Willie wrote:What a boring ass plane to steal, though. Should have at least grabbed a Citation X and fucked with Mach 1! Then again, I guess stealers can’t always be choosers...

Prolly what dude had access to.

The local rag says the F-15s scrambled from PDX, too. I find that pretty unlikely. Much more likely they took off from the Air Nationa Guard base across the Slough, since that's where they're stationed.

Dinsdale wrote:The local rag says the F-15s scrambled from PDX, too. I find that pretty unlikely. Much more likely they took off from the Air Nationa Guard base across the Slough, since that's where they're stationed.

Generally you know your shit Dins. But what the hell are you talking about here? Oregon ANG is stationed at PDX. Hangers are on the Columbia side of the field. F-15s are most definitely stationed there. I have not only seen them, I have been i their ready room.

It's adjacent to PDX. So is the golf course I frequently play -- doesn't make it part of PDX.

It is part of PDX. No way around that.

I’d be inclined to say the fighters came from McChord AFB, but I’m not certain they have an interceptor wing there. That being said, if the guy was determined to go out in a blaze of glory, he could have forced the zoomies’ hand and made for Seattle and have them shoot him down. Now that would be legendary!

Rooster wrote:I’d be inclined to say the fighters came from McChord AFB, but I’m not certain they have an interceptor wing there. That being said, if the guy was determined to go out in a blaze of glory, he could have forced the zoomies’ hand and made for Seattle and have them shoot him down. Now that would be legendary!

How exactly would that decision work? He's 5 miles from Seattle or something and they decide that's the time to shoot him down?

My understanding of the threshold for decisive action by air defense is a positive maneuver by the person at the controls towards either sensitive area or highly congested/populated urban location. The AF then issues several warnings, each more stern than the last demanding that the pilot turn from his present course, with the final one being a, “This is your last warning” type. At that point they may attempt to knock the aircraft off course or disable it, forcing the plane down. Then, if all else fails and they no longer have the space, time, or fuel to dawdle, they’ll shoot it down, most likely going to guns since a missile failure could cause unintended deaths by itself.

I had a couple of interesting experiences, one involving a flight into San Francisco two days after 9-11 and the other being in close proximity to the Blue Angels during one of their training sessions where an accident had occurred. More on that later.

Left Seater wrote:It is part of PDX. No way around that.

We are all PDX and fliends.

Rooster wrote:My understanding of the threshold for decisive action by air defense is a positive maneuver by the person at the controls towards either sensitive area or highly congested/populated urban location. The AF then issues several warnings, each more stern than the last demanding that the pilot turn from his present course, with the final one being a, “This is your last warning” type. At that point they may attempt to knock the aircraft off course or disable it, forcing the plane down. Then, if all else fails and they no longer have the space, time, or fuel to dawdle, they’ll shoot it down, most likely going to guns since a missile failure could cause unintended deaths by itself.

I had a couple of interesting experiences, one involving a flight into San Francisco two days after 9-11 and the other being in close proximity to the Blue Angels during one of their training sessions where an accident had occurred. More on that later.

Interesting, thanks.

5:15 - he talks about doing a barrel roll

9.3 from the S. Korean judge.

Rooster wrote:I’d be inclined to say the fighters came from McChord AFB, but I’m not certain they have an interceptor wing there.

The 1980's called -- they want this post back. Fort Lewis and McChord AFB merged into one huge facility a long time ago. And there's no fighter wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, nor is there one at Fairchild AFB in Spokane. The Oregon Air National Guard is it for the entire region. Because why not put a fighter wing that flies daily in a major urban center -- the noise is awesome.

The sound of freedom!

Those F-15 drivers love it. They take off, wheels up, then go vertical to like 15,000 feet, where they roll out and then go on their way.

Left Seater wrote:The sound of freedom!

Those F-15 drivers love it. They take off, wheels up, then go vertical to like 15,000 feet, where they roll out and then go on their way.

One day a year, they practice going vertical, then into a drop, over the river. A few years ago, I happened to be driving down Columbia Bvd at the time... unbelievably loud. The rest of the time, I hear them almost daily as they head out to the ocean to patrol/train.

Dinsdale wrote:

Rooster wrote:I’d be inclined to say the fighters came from McChord AFB, but I’m not certain they have an interceptor wing there.

The 1980's called -- they want this post back. Fort Lewis and McChord AFB merged into one huge facility a long time ago. And there's no fighter wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, nor is there one at Fairchild AFB in Spokane. The Oregon Air National Guard is it for the entire region. Because why not put a fighter wing that flies daily in a major urban center -- the noise is awesome.

In my defense, I haven’t been there since the early ‘70s when I was a kid, but yeah, I didn’t know if they had anything other than transport and heavy lift aircraft at McChord. As for the noise, like all those people who complain about the airport after they bought a house nearby even though the airport predates them by fifty years, my reaction is if you don’t like the sound of aircraft engines at all hours you probably should have bought a home elsewhere.

But you want noise? The IL-76 is crazy loud. Four turbofan engines making so much noise you’d think there was a Delta IV rocket launch going off on the runway.

As our favorite mud butt says, no fucks are given. Amazingling overblown story nationally, should have went to the back page the next day.

Probably a dumb question, as I only know how to drive submarines and rocketships. How do you start a plane? Are there a set of keys that you leave in the dashboard?

All I know is that first you shout “CONTACT!!!”

Negative on the keys. However many planes have keys for the entry door and or the cockpit door.

Very generally, the APU is started, and that is used to spin up the main before fuel is introduced and ignited. Once one engine is running you can use that to start the second.

If the APU isn’t working then you go to the start cart. This is more dangerous for the ramp guys especially depending on the aircraft involved.

Microsoft flight sim is quite realistic and can teach you the process if you wanted to learn.