An Alaska Airlines employee has stolen an airplane from Seattle International Airport and crashed it into the Puget Sound not far from there, the company said on Twitter.

The motive is unclear, as is the fate of the airline employee.

There were no passengers on board the plane, which is a Q400 model and is normally flown by sister company Horizon Air. When the theft was discovered, the US Air Force sent two F15 fighter jets to follow the plane. However, the incident is not terror-related, according to local police.

Operations at Seattle Airport have returned to normal.

Source: TT