Captain Who Crashed Plane in Utah Wanted for Killing Girlfriend

Captain Who Crashed Plane in Utah Wanted for Killing Girlfriend

A SkyWest captain who entered a small Utah airport early this morning and damaged a SkyWest Airlines jetliner, a terminal building and some parked vehicles had been wanted by authorities in the death of his girlfriend.

Brian Joseph Hedglin, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colo., fatally shot himself, a source at the airline said. SkyWest confirmed today that the suspect had been an employee of the company but was on administrative leave.

A Federal Aviation Agency database confirmed that Hedglin was certified to fly commercially as a captain.

Hedglin drove his motorcycle to St. George Municipal Airport, hopped a fence at 12:30 a.m. M.T. and then boarded the SkyWest aircraft, according to authorities.

After starting the engines of a 50-seat regional jetliner, Hedglin clipped the wing of another aircraft and crashed through a fence as he taxied the plane. It wasn't clear whether the plane ever got off the ground.

Also, Hedglin had been named a suspect in the slaying of 39-year-old girlfriend Christina Lopez Cornejo, according to ABC News affiliate KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs. The two were members of the Colorado National Guard.

Her body was found Friday at a home in Colorado Springs, Colo. KRDO-TV said that court records showed Hedglin faced charges after being arrested in a domestic disturbance involving Cornejo several months ago.

Federal, local and airport authorities continued to investigate the airport incident today.

All commercial flights at the airport were canceled until further notice. Mark Mortensen, a city spokesman, told the Deseret News that the terminal and vehicles in the parking lot had sustained minor damage as well.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday July 19 2012, 10:08 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0