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 really knew it until now. Think about landing this successfully, will alaska give me a job as a pilot . I think theyll give you a Job Doing Anything if you can pull this off. Yeah, right. If you wanted to land, probably the best bet is that runway just ahead to your left. Thats the mccord field. If you wanted to try, that might be the best way to see if you could land there. Or just like the pilot suggested, another option would be over puget sound into the water. Dang, you talk to mccord yet . Because i dont think id be happy with you telling me i could land like that. The ground and dealing with more of a Brush Fire Type of incident, as you know, its been in the washington and seattle area. Theyre dealing with these type of fires quite a bit lately. So how difficult was it to get to the scene . We know this was a heavily wooded area. It happened on an island. How difficult was it for your crews to get over there . It was very difficult. Once we got up, they had to make their way to the south end of the island. Reports of very narrow roads and really no direct access to where the plane had went down. So theres a lot of onfoot, a lot of carrying of tools and hoses, a lot of coordinated efforts to try to get water. The water, the hydrants reliable. 10,000 gallons of water, that helped a lot. Trying to keep it safe for investigators. That important point you made about the potential for a wildfire, i mean, was that one of your first concerns . I assume your first concern was perhaps the status of the pilot, but how vital was it for you to get to that scene quickly to prevent the fire from spreading . Yeah, because, you know, thats not one of our primary areas that we respond to, a lot of agencies were turning to each other figuring out what might we be dealing with. We have the area mapped out pretty well. So we knew going into it that it was not heavily populated. We knew it was going to be difficult. And then based on the Weather Conditions weve had, we knew it was going to be very, very dry and, you know, hoping the weather would cooperate. Fast. Lucky to keep it contained. 150 feet and have some access. So that did help. Yeah. So were you made aware of the situation while the plane was still in the air . And if you were, were you preparing for an even worse Case Scenario where it could have gone down into a highly populated area . At the time when we were dispatched, had reported it. I think it went out as quickly upgraded to a plane crash on ketra island and prior to really getting dispatched. So for us, crews and command to prepare for some type of wildfire. Scott adams who is the
battalion chief. Went down outside of seattle scott, thank you so much, we appreciate it. Chbl shakeup on capital hill. Chris collins suspending his reelection. Why step away at a critical time in his opponent . Well ask his opponent after the break. When i received the diagnoses,
i get it all the time. Have you lost weight . Of course i have ever since i started renting from national. Because national lets me lose the wait at the counter. And choose any car in the aisle. And i dont wait when i return, thanks to drop go. At national, i can lose the wait. And keep it off. Looking good, patrick. I know. vo go national. Go like a pro. Sharper vision, without limits. Days that go from sun up to sun down. A whole world in all its beauty. Three Innovative Technologies for our ultimate in vision, clarity, and protection. Together in a single lens. Essilor ultimate lens package. Purchase the Essilor Ultimate Lens Package and get a second pair of qualifying lenses free. Essilor. Better sight. Better life. Can worldrenowned artist red hong yi use the chase mobile app® to pay practically anyone, at any bank . Yes. But this isnt for just anyone. Chase. Make more of whats yours. Breaking news on indicted congressman Chris Collins, suspends his election. Facing 150 years in prison if convicted. Were now joined by Congressman Collins. The democrat Nate Mcmurray from grand island. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. First tell me your reaction when you heard about your opponents decision not to seek reelection. I think good news for new york state. Good news for america. The era he represents needs to come to an end. I think its going to be a very trying time for his family and him. I understand that and at the same time, i am relieved that were not going to have a man who may be in jail for 150 years in Office Running in a campaign to represent Western New York and central new york. I dont have to tell you the odds you were facing initially with Congressman Collins given the makeup of that district. Reliably republican, something a district the president won by more than 20 points the last time around. Now Congressman Collins out of the picture but the politics of the district hasnt changed all that much. How are you reaching out to republicans at this point trying to win them over because thats still going to be necessary for you to win, isnt it . It certainly is. I think mr. Collins represents a
system that should be your representative, to trust this man and Many Americans feel our political system is in crisis and needs to be changes and this left right divide is maybe not the best thing for us and we need to rethink things and that party bosses shouldnt be making or calling the shots. People who are of this region, who represent the values of this region like hard work and honesty and decency should be the ones to help lead the region. You mention party bosses. The opens the door to ask about nancy pelosi. Shes calling on Congressman Collins to resign his position. Do you agree with her and think Congressman Collins should step down immediately . He should, he should step down immediately. I think, i mean, im not sure what hes trying to do. Extend his pension or Something Else but this has to end. Suspending his campaign is one thing but he needs to resign. I call on him to do the right thing and hope he will do the right thing. As for nancy pelosi, she is the leader currently. I think we need new voices and new people to come forward to help lead this party. I hope to be part of that movement and part of the overall rejuvenation of the leadership in our country. I guess what youre telling me is you wont support her if democrats win the majority and she runs for speaker. Is that what youre saying . I will not. I warn you, we may have to cut the interview short because of a Press Conference. But representing Western New York, this district in particular, what is it that voters are asking you about . What is it . What message did they want you to take to washington if youre elected . We keep hearing about a booming economy but its booming for guys like Chris Collins who get the secret deals, the secret handshakes, the back room deals. Theres a lot of people struggling. My message from the getgo has
been, we need representation for the middle class. We need to grow the middle class. We need to strengthen the middle class. This economy may be working for some people, but its not working for the people who are working two or three jobs still living in debt and struggling. Thats what i want to change and the people i want to represent here in Western New York and central new york. Now, what republicans have to do some legal maneuvering, essentially, to get Congressman Collins off the ballot in november. Whats your opinion about that . Do you think they should have that ability if hes one of the theories he may be appointed to a Town Clerkship in order to get him off the ballot . Do you think thats appropriate or should republicans just be forced to ride with him through the election because he is the candidate they nominated . Its troubling, right . They want to hit the reset button and pretend none of this happen. They didnt want to pretend they were attacking me a week ago for saying, how dare you challenge mr. Collins . Its shameful. Theyll reach deep into this bag of tricks to come up with some strange solution. Its not going to fix anything. Its going to make, its going to just be more of the same dirty Political Machine weve seen over and over thats taken advantage of people here in Western New York. All right. Nate mcmurray, we have to let you go because of this Press Conference but we appreciate you joining us. Alaska airlines discussing yesterdays plane crash outside of seattle. Lets listen in right here. Ceo and president gary beck will make a statement. Weve already gone over the spelling of your last names. Following the statements, well hear from representatives from the fbi and the Port Of Seattle and afterwards, well open it up for about 15 to 20 minutes of q and a for those of you in the room and those of you on the call. Please raise your hand if you have a question and i will call on you. Be sure to speak loudly so people listening in on the call can hear. I suspect there will be a lot of
questions so we like to limit everybody to one each, please. The fbi is leading this investigation, so theres a lot of information that we simply cannot share today. Now, let me introduce Alaska Airlines ceo and chairman brad tilldan and gary beck. Brad serves as chairman and ceo of Alaska Air Group, the Parent Company of Alaska Airlines and horizon air. A 27 year veteran of Alaska Airlines. Gary is president and ceo of horizon air. He joined the airline in january of this year and previously served as Vice President of operations at Alaska Airlines for about six years. With that, ill turn it over to brad. Thank you, bobby, and good morning everyone. All of us at alaska and horizon are deeply saddened by last nights unauthorized flight with
the Horizon Q400 Aircraft that resulted in the loss of life for the individual involved. All 23,000 of us want to express our sincere sympathy to his family, his loved ones and his coworkers. Were working closely with the authorities to help answer the many open questions that they have and this cooperation started last night. Our top priority is the safety of our guests and our employees. Simply put, there is nothing more important to us. Were working closely with the fbi, the ntsb, and the faa to better understand the circumstances behind this incident. Weve been told as bobby said that the fbi is the lead agency investigating this. Safety is our number one goal. Theres nothing more important to us. Last nights event will push us to ensure this does not happen again at Alaska Air Group or any other airline. Over to gary, i want to acknowledge and express my deep gratitude to the faa air Traffic Controllers, to the washington and Oregon Air National guards and to the First Responders from Pierce County. They had a very strong and professional response to this incident. So with us here today, we have, as bobby said, we have horizon air ceo gary beck. We also have jay tab who is leading the investigation for the fbi and we have mike ail whos the director of operations for ctech airport. These folks will speak for a couple of minutes and then available to answer your questions. Thanks, brad. At 7 32 p. M. Local time, a
horizon air Ground Service agent departed in a Horizon Air Q400 without clearance from Sea Tac International airport. The plane taken from a Maintenance Position and was not scheduled for passenger flight. The aircraft crashed about an hour later in a wooded area on Ketron Island in rural Pierce County. No Ground Structures were involved at the crash site. Military jets were scrambled from portland but it does not appear the jets were involved in the crash of the horizon aircraft. And i really want to emphasize that we appreciate the militarys professionalism. Were working closely with the authorities and our own safety teams to thoroughly understand this incident and now ill turn it over to mike. Thank you, mr. Beck and good
morning. The Port Of Seattle and Sea Tac International airport want you to know were working fully with our partners at the ntsb, the tsa and certainly strong partners in horizon and alaska air. Immediately upon learning of the incident, we worked with our faa partners to institute a ground stop that prevented any departures from leaving sea tac until the situation was stabilized. To clear the airspace, arrivals continued and ended at 20 40 or 8 00 p. M. Last night when normal operations resumed. Approximately 75 flights were delayed. Nine flights were diverted to other airports. Five flights were cancelled. We estimate that approximately 19 flights incurred delays over two hours and we apologize to patrons of sea tac airport. None exceeded the tarmac rule by
federal regulation. Back to normal by 1 00 a. M. This morning and moving forward, well continue to work closely with our Stake Holders as well as Law Enforcement and now like to introduce from tab from the fbi. Thank you. Good morning, my name is jay tab. Im the Special Agent in charge for the fbi in the state of washington. First, an expression of condolences and empathy for alaska and Horizon Airlines in this loss and i want to talk a little bit to the king county and Pierce County residents who im sure had a scare last night. I want everybody to know were diligently investigating this matter and get to the bottom of it. Were doing so with a long list of partners right now including Pierce County police department, Pierce County fire department. The ntsb, of course, and some fire rescue folks from the joint base louis mccord who are assisting us right now. I have dozens of personnel at
the crash site right now. I have 30 to 40 folks involved overnight out interviewing coworkers, and Family Members and i just want everybody to understand, this is going to take a little bit of time. So please be patient with the fbi. Were not prepared today to discuss a lot of details regarding this incident. Just because it is. So with that, well turn it over to q and a. Well now take some questions. Operator, could you please open the call and i want to apologize to Everybody Calling in. I know were having a few technical difficulties, so speakers may have to repeat yourself. We apologize for that. Lets take our first question in the room. Way too early to comment on that. Im sorry. I think at this time, we believe he was the only one in the aircraft but of course, we havent confirmed that at the crash site, if thats your question. And in terms of the access, that will be best answered by somebody else. [ Reporter Asking Question ] well, we do realize that there is some information flowing out there. We are not confirming the identity of the individual involved at this time. It was a 3. 5 year employee of horizon air. It was a Ground Service agent for horizon air. To answer the question you asked, he was background
checked. A couple of different Background Checks we run our employees. He had a seat of badge with the seattle. He worked his shift yesterday. His job is to be around airplanes. Hes certified, so meant to be. A nonsecure side and a secure side. Hes meant to be on the secure side. Thats part of the fulfillment of his job responsibilities. This airplane was a cargo one. Its a spot on the north part of the airport. The airplane was not going to be used further last night and he did go up to there without sort of a purpose other than this, what he did do. We dont know. We dont have that information. Committed. Well take a couple of questions from the call operator. Well have those on the phone to email those. Yes. Fully certified and belongng there mentioned, constantly making changes. What, if anything, could to do to prevent from happening again . Its very, very early. This incident happened last night, so we are right now, were dealing with the response to the incident. Were looking at this. Its natural to ask yourself what, procedures are there and told you, he was credentialed, part of his job responsibility. He was around airplanes, working around airplanes but in terms of improvements that we might make as a company, as an industry to make this honestly very safe
industry even safer in the future, its too early to say. We will, alaska, we pride ourselves in being a leader in safety and we will be a leader on this issue. So we will be looking at it, but were less than 24