Police: Commercial pilot suspected in SeaTac carjacking
SEATTLE -- Deputies say a pilot drunkenly carjacked a Bainbridge man Saturday night, just hours before he was scheduled to fly a commercial fight to Japan.
SeaTac police were called to a Hilton Hotel Saturday night at roughly 8:40 p.m. after a Bainbridge man reported his car stolen.
The 66-year-old man told officers he had just gotten into his rental car when an unknown man opened the car door and climbed into the backseat. When asked what he was doing, the man said, "you know, you know," according to King County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindi West.
After a brief exchange of words, the victim pulled out a handgun and told the man -- a 43-year-old from Oklahoma -- to get out of his car. The man refused, and a fight ensued.
Police say the victim hit the man several times with the handgun, then got out of his car. After chasing the victim -- who was still armed with a handgun -- around the car, police say the man got in the front seat and drove away.
Just a few minutes later, an employee at the Wally Park next to the Hilton called police to report a bloody man in the parking lot. When officers arrived, they found the Oklahoma man sitting inside the stolen car.
The man was arrested for investigation of vehicle theft and DUI and booked into King County Jail.
Police later learned that the man is a pilot with Omni Air and was scheduled to fly a commercial flight from Seattle to Tokyo Sunday morning.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the alleged carjacker pulled a gun on the victim. In fact, the victim had the gun.
SeaTac police were called to a Hilton Hotel Saturday night at roughly 8:40 p.m. after a Bainbridge man reported his car stolen.
The 66-year-old man told officers he had just gotten into his rental car when an unknown man opened the car door and climbed into the backseat. When asked what he was doing, the man said, "you know, you know," according to King County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindi West.
After a brief exchange of words, the victim pulled out a handgun and told the man -- a 43-year-old from Oklahoma -- to get out of his car. The man refused, and a fight ensued.
Police say the victim hit the man several times with the handgun, then got out of his car. After chasing the victim -- who was still armed with a handgun -- around the car, police say the man got in the front seat and drove away.
Just a few minutes later, an employee at the Wally Park next to the Hilton called police to report a bloody man in the parking lot. When officers arrived, they found the Oklahoma man sitting inside the stolen car.
The man was arrested for investigation of vehicle theft and DUI and booked into King County Jail.
Police later learned that the man is a pilot with Omni Air and was scheduled to fly a commercial flight from Seattle to Tokyo Sunday morning.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the alleged carjacker pulled a gun on the victim. In fact, the victim had the gun.
More American airport madness.... (geezus) Society is friggin' looney! :(
This illustrates the folly of hiring pilots for minimum wage.
 @T_BONE_WALKER Minimum wage? In what world do you live in that commercial pilots make minimum wage?
 @PacMan T-Bone is correct. Most commercial pilots today make very little and have to work long hours with minimal turn-arounds in odd places far from home. Only the pilots forking directly for major carriers earn good money any more - those working for contractors flying in the name of majors, and many flying cargo, do not earn much.
 @PacMan I wish however you are sadly mistaken...New pilots have well over a hundred thousand dollars in debt maybe in some cases 200 yet they struggle to find a job because the minimum is about 1500 hours of flight time and that is at a small domestic gig. The average wage for a pilot is 27k-35k a year. Now if we're talking experienced pilots who are promoted to Capt. then yes, depending on the airline or carrier make 100k+.Â
 @JLS1950 I know lots of pilots. Cargo and passenger. They all make a very comfortable wage. Especially those flying trans-Pacific.
The victim needs to take some training courses in how to handle his weapon. The only time you EVER pull your weapon is if you're going to fire. If he didn't feel threatened he shouldn't have pulled it. If he did feel threatened, he should have fired.
 I'll disagree with you, I've been in one situation where a guy approached with a knife when I was at an ATM, he demanded my wallet and I drew on him.  As I drew I also took a step back and was very close to squeezing that trigger but as I was drawing he was smart enough to drop the knife, turn and run.  Do you suggest I shoot him in the back, chase him down and fire on him?
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I've gone out to investigate people coming onto my property with a gun in my hand too. Â Thank god the police don't follow your rule either, we'd have a lot of innocent dead folks out there.
 @oledawg If I draw, I'm firing. Before I have a chance to step back, before the BG has a chance to drop his weapon. Therefore I would not shoot him in the back. Going out on your own private property with gun in hand is not the issue here. That would be the same as being woken up to the sound of breaking glass, getting your weapon and investigating the interior of your home. When in public, the ONLY time you draw, is to fire. That means you believe that your life, or the lives of others are in immediate jeopardy. While the police are free to draw their weapons without fear of a brandishing charge, we as citizens are viewed much differently when we have a weapon in our hands.Â
 @CenterFire "Going out on your own private property with gun in hand is not the issue here."
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Not with this story but it is one example that goes against your statement "The only time you EVER pull your weapon is if you're going to fire."
 @CenterFire We'll have to disagree then.  Lots of firearms have been drawn without firing, nothing wrong with that.  The brandishing charge, LOL, where does brandishing show up in the RCW's?  The sight of a firearm can be enough to deter a legitimate threat, it's been proven over and over again.  You want the headaches of firing your weapon, that's worse then any brandishing BS you can ever make up.
 @oledawg "...Do you suggest I shoot him in the back...?"Â
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No just shoot him in the leg until he turns around =)
 @CenterFire Agreed! Just because the victim found somebody trying to steal his rental car is no justification for pulling his firearm at that point. But if the victim felt his life was in immediate danger, only then would he have been justified in using deadly force. Being chased around the car by the drunk pilot/car thief may have been a better reason for pulling a weapon, but he still would have to believe his life was in danger at that point.
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But this was a rental car! I think I would have let the drunk drive off and hoped that he would have crashed into a wall. And I hope the victim had a CPL; if he was carrying concealed with no permit he could wind up with his own set of problems.
Kudos to the victim for arming and protecting himself but (most importantly) having the restraint not to shoot unnecessarily!
 @heavyweather Being armed was smart. Drawing when his life was not in danger was not smart. Hitting the BG with the firearm was absolutely an a$$hat move. He could very well have shot himself or someone else.Â
 @heavyweather Exactly- most would probably flee at even the sight of a gun, and those that were armed themselves? Well, you'd have the drop on them.
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I agree, kudos to the victim!
actually, the omni air flight was supposed to be my ride to tokyo. i was supposed sneak past their custom without being noticed. i bought $1000 worth of booze at costco for him and i to enjoy in the cockpit during the flight, but i guess he couldn't wait...Â
 @CIAassassin From this story, it sounds like the soon-to-be-former pilot owes you about $995. Â
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"the man is pilot"
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He works (Did) for Omni Air International,based out of Tulsa Ok..Q13 fox has a much better story on it.
 @2ndstartothenorth What? Other news outlets, and KOMO readers have more information on a story than KOMO's paid copy-pasters? What a stunning development.Â
(nd thanks for the heads up on where to find the rest of the story.)
He was an OmniAir international pilot
 @Vince "Was" being the operative word, if all this is true. Yikes, what a dummy.
@Vince Beat me to it Vince!!! :)
Alcohol sure makes people do crazy and stupid things. Had the pilot not carjacked the guy, he would've still been drunk by the time his flight left. There should be mandatory breathalyzers for pilots, no doubt about it.
Northwest or United
A commercial pilot? Not anymore!
What a dumb pile of Poo!
C'mon, KOMO, what airline? I have to know what to avoid when he's inevitably released.
Well thank god that man fought back otherwise this clown could of been at the controls of that plane! Amazing what people do that toss their career in the toilet.
@lakeunion Thank goodness he didn't kill anyone with the car. He was at least 12-13 hours before reporting for his pre-flight check in. Plenty of time to sober up. Although I still would prefer that ole Captian Morgan didn't have a pilot's license.
 @jinkiesshaggy!  @lakeunion "Plenty of time" would depend on how much of what he had consumed and how recently.
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I'd REALLY prefer that pilots be of the kind that knows their limits and never drinks enough to get drunk.
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 @jinkiesshaggy! Actually, federal regs state that no pilot is allowed to consume alcohol (ANY kind) within 8 hours of piloting an airplane. Most airlines take a much more conservative approach, however, and mandate that their pilots should not consume alcohol within 24 hours of any flight on which they are pilot in command.Â
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Clearly, this guy had no clue and indeed has pretty thrown away his pilot's career... That was some expensive booze!
Most airlines do a 12 hr policy for drikning before operating a flight. I work with this pilot and find some of these comments digusting. There is much more to this story and the truth will come out. I am shocked and saddened by this story and stand behind him 100%.
 @jinkiesshaggy!  @lakeunion Plenty of time to sober up assuming he'd started that process.
If he was drunk enough to carjack somebody for a simple taxi ride, pissing away his career in the process, he probably wasn't nearly clear-thinking enough to understand when he needed to switch to seltzer water.Â
 @jinkiesshaggy!  @lakeunion I am assuming the wasn't a United Pilot. Pulling a gun on someone doesn't mesh well with flying the friendly skies
 @lakeunion  @jinkiesshaggy! More like one of those Southwest Airlines awkward moments: "Want to get away?"