As someone who is aspiring and currently working towards a career in the airline industry, I was deeply disturbed by what has become known as the
2018 Horizon Air Q400 Incident on the night of Friday, August 10, 2018, where a ground service operator for the carrier stole an out-of-service Bombardier DHC-8-402 twin-turboprop aircraft and made an authorized takeoff from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on an apparent hour-long joyride with some aerobatics. Following the erratic flight, which prompted a military response with fighter jets, the twin-turboprop crashed on a sparsely-populated island just east of Tacoma, resulting in the complete destruction of the aircraft and death of the perpetrator.
Immediately after the crash, some video footage of the stolen aircraft emerged, including one showing it doing the aforementioned aerobatics. In this day and age of social media and how quickly information and misinformation gets passed around, there have been plenty of commentary regarding this incident observed since its occurrence. Many of the comments suggests people were impressed and praised the perpetrator for what he was able to accomplish flying the aircraft he stole, calling him "epic" or a "legend" or with some other praise-worthy term as some sort of folk hero; even an Internet meme about him has emerged.
While everybody is entitled to their own opinions and thoughts and are free to express it, there is nothing impressive about stealing an airliner and flying it in a reckless manner around a major population center. Impressive flying is done in a controlled environment, such an air show if referring to aerobatics, and in a professional manner with nothing but the highest standards adhering to aviation regulations. This was a criminal act that could've easily resulted in a terrible loss of innocent lives; thankfully, that wasn't the case this time. We should never ever look upon this act as anything but a reckless criminal act that put property at risk and endangered the lives of untold numbers of innocent people. The facts are clear that the perpetrator stole an expensive airplane, went on a “joyride," in controlled airspace while putting other people and property at risk before crashing and ending his life; yes, he had problems, but he’s no hero. We can and should mourn for the family and friends of the perpetrator, but avoid glorifying his criminal act that could have resulted in the death of God-knows-how-many on the ground.
Furthermore, this particular incident demonstrates the extreme lengths that people sometimes go to end their lives when they feel like there are no other options. A career in aviation celebrates people's strength and bravery while working in the industry. While that is part of what makes aviation great, it is not a sign of weakness to admit that you are overwhelmed. In fact, doing so is usually the first step towards addressing your challenge. We are all human; we experience joy and and sometimes extreme disappointments in life. We might have a unique job in a unique industry but our challenges aren't that different than other human beings working in completely different industries. Sometimes those disappointments can add up and feel overwhelming. But we don't ever have to do it alone. You should know that no matter how bad your situation may seem, there is always hope.
If you are feeling down, don't go it alone. Reach out to someone. People care way more than you think. And there are ways to get help without impacting the career that you've worked so hard to achieve. If you see someone who is struggling, don't pile on. It takes a strong person to reach out to someone who is hurting.
I don't take anything about this sad, messed-up situation lightly, especially since I'll be going into the industry this incident affected. There will no doubt be repercussions and knee-jerk reactions in response to this incident that may or may not result in some sort of policy changes that would be necessary to prevent something like this from ever happening again.
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The Horizon Air Q400 involved in the incident.
Photographed May 2015. |
