Ultraviolet Airlines Flight 26

On June 26, 2023, a ramp crew member at Seattle Tacoma International Airport hijacked a parked Antonov An-850 and crashed it in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. The amateur pilot was the only person to die, but numerous civilians were injured.

### aircraft

The aircraft was an Antonov An-850 registered NB4608J, in service with Ultraviolet Airlines since 2017.

### event

An airport worker climbed into the plane she was supposed to be servicing and taxied onto the active Runway 27C, forcing the ATC controllers to hold a Japan Airlines Boeing 797 on its takeoff roll. The supervising controller established the plane as Ultraviolet Airlines Flight 26, after its previously completed flight. The amateur pilot, Araina Berlin, made use of her limited knowledge of the aircraft to climb the plane to 1-thousand feet, but collided with a drone in midair.

The plane's upper horizontal stabilizer suffered immense damage, causing a loss of hydraulics. The drone fell into Lake Samammish, narrowly avoiding falling on a tourist ferry. The SeaTac ATC tried to get Araina to turn the plane towards the Pacific Ocean, but she could not.

Two fighter jets from Joint Base Lewis-McCord were scrambled to intercept Araina, who admitted to the fighter pilots that she was depressed and suicidal after the loss of her younger sister and her narcissistic mother. The fighters debated whether to shoot her down but ultimately chose not to.

At 6pm, the cockpit voice recorder captured an argument between Araina and her mother.

At 620pm, UTA 26 was handed off to controllers at Spokane International Airport, who tried unsuccessfully to help Araina land the plane using engine throttles. The Antonov narrowly missed a landing Boeing 737, which was forced to go around. The Antonov An-850 flew over the city of Spokane at an altitude of 300 feet and a speed of 320 miles per hour, about a third of its maximum speed.

Araina panicked over the Spokane River while flying past the city of Post Falls, with Spokane air traffic controllers directing her to use engine thrust to turn the plane. At 637pm, the aircraft gained a burst of hydraulic pressure but lost it when Araina turned the plane using the yolk. Flying at low altitude over the Spokane River near the city of Coeur D'Alene, Araina shared a tearful final conversation with her mother, and then crashed the plane into Tubbs Hill on purpose.

The Antonov's cockpit was completed destroyed, killing Araina instantly. The wings atomized against the rock buried underground, causing a massive fireball and a shockwave that broke windows in a mile-wide radius. The engines crushed numerous homes and trees before sliding down the hill. The tail assembly slid backwards down the hill, pushing trees into Lake Coeur D'Alene. The number one engine fell into McEuen Field, and the number two engine fell into Lake Coeur D'Alene, destroying a boardwalk full of tourists.

### Victim

Araina Berlin, a ramp crew member, was suffering from severe depression at the time of the crash. She had been grieving the loss of her sister alone while subjected to abuse and struggling with bills she could not afford. Her boss at SeaTac reported a decline in her mental health and work ethic.

One of the controllers in Spokane, Emily Gartner, was devastated by the incident and her perceived failure to save Araina. She quit her ATC job and started a new career in helping troubled youth find housing in Spokane. Emily visits the memorial site in Coeur D'Alene every year on the crash's anniversary to mourn.

*inspired by the 2018 Ketron Island air disaster*