Free Flight, Free Speech

At another point, the employee said: "I'm gonna land it, in a safe kind of manner. I think I'm gonna try to do a barrel roll, and if that goes good, I'm just gonna nose down and call it a night."

Video posted by witnesses on social media showed the plane making a barrel roll over what appears to be Puget Sound, with some onlookers crying out in terror as the plane exited the roll in a dive toward the water, before barely pulling up in time and flying away.

A 29-year-old man stole a Horizon Air passenger plane from Sea-Tac International Airport and took off on Friday night, circling the area for a short time and performing stunts while being chased by military jets before crashing near Tacoma.

The unnamed man flying the twin-engine turboprop engaged in an hour-long back and forth negotiation with air traffic control where he mentioned not intending to land the aircraft, before the fiery crash on Ketron Island in North Pierce County, just south of Tacoma.

Reportedly no passengers or other personnel on board, but firefighters are still combing through the wreckage.