By Steve Shay and Shara Wallace
HIGHLINE TIMES

Car plunges down SeaTac ravine
A rescue team aided a driver seriously injured when his car plunged 100 feet down a ravine early Friday, Feb. 22 in SeaTac, officials said.
Medics and firefighters responded in the 15600 block of Des Moines Memorial Drive South at about 2 a.m. after a report of a car veering off the roadway and down an embankment.
The first emergency unit on the scene found a car with the injured driver still in the car about 100 feet down the ravine. A rope rescue took place by trained personnel, with neighboring fire departments assisting.
Rescuers found the driver still awake and able to tell them he was the only person in the car at the time of the crash.
The man was extricated from the vehicle and lifted up the slope with the rope system. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

Runway copper stolen
Thieves stole 1,000 feet of copper wire last week from the lighting system that helps planes land in low visibility at Sea-Tac Airport. The FAA said the wiring was taken from the approach light system for Runway 34L. It’s part of the runway’s Instrument Landing System, or ILS. 

 There have been no flight delays as a result.
All three Sea-Tac runways have ILS. The FAA said losing the approach lights to any one of them would only affect the arrival rate if several other circumstances happened at the same time, such a sustained flow of heavy arrivals, low visibility and moderate north winds.
The FAA said moderate north winds and low visibility rarely happen simultaneously. Work is under way to replace the wiring. The system is expected to be back online early next week. There was no indication if there are any suspects in the case.

Hijack hoax sends up fighter jets
A Hawaii man was indicted Wednesday, Feb. 20, in U.S. District court for a hijacking scare on an Alaska Airlines flight to Sea-Tac last month.
According to authorities, Timothy David Hershman, 58, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for his Jan. 17 phone call hoax that set into motion an escort by two Oregon-based fighter jets for the commercial jet.
No reason behind Hershman’s alleged involvement is offered in the indictment. He has not entered a plea, has not been arrested, but is expected to appear in court later this year.
On the afternoon of Jan. 17, the FBI and other agencies were alerted by an anonymous phone call saying flight 819 from Kona, Hawaii to Seattle was hijacked.
“The caller actually gave the name of a person who was in fact a passenger on that flight,” FBI special agent Tom Simon said. The plane landed at 7:12 p.m. and a passenger was taken into custody.
But that man was cooperative and later released after FBI agents determined there was no safety threat. Alaska Airlines officials said the man slept most of the flight, and the FBI said nothing in his history would lead law enforcement to believe he was a threat.

Car break-ins, vandalism, prowlers and theft
15300 blk 1st Ave. S., 1000 blk S. 128th, 13000 blk Occidental Ave., 1000 blk S.W. 170th, 1000 blk S.W. 139th St., 3000 blk S. 148th St., 16200 blk Sylvester Rd., 200 blk S. 177th Pl., 11200 blk Des Moines Memorial Dr. S., 11300 blk 26th Ave. S., 16200 blk 13th Ave. S.W., 16200 blk 15th Ave. S.W., 200 blk S. 126th St., 300 blk S. 177th Pl., 1000 blk S. 130th Pl., 12200 blk 3rd Ave. S.W., 1600 blk S.W. Seahurst Park, 1000 blk S. 120th, 13800 blk 16th Ave. S.W., 11800 blk 26th Ave. S.W.

Residential burglaries and break-ins
18000 blk Occidental Ave. S., 600 blk S.W. 139th St., 14400 blk 26th Ln. S., 2000 blk S. 140th St., 2000 blk S. 138th St., 11600 blk 26th Ave. S.W., 15300 blk 6th S.W., 13200 blk 12th Ave. S.W., 11200 blk 21st Ave. S.W., 11300 blk 26th Ave. S., 13200 blk Ambaum Blvd. S., 600 blk S.W. 144th Pl.