ST. GEORGE – Surveillance video from the St. George Municipal Airport of a murder suspect’s ill-fated attempt to steal a plane in July were released Wednesday.
In the early hours of July 17, 2012, 40-year-old Brian Hedglin, a SkyWest pilot and also a suspect in his girlfriend’s murder in Colorado Springs, Colo., entered the St. George Municipal Airport and was able to gain access to a CRJ200 jet aircraft.
The videos detail Hedglin’s taking the plane and losing a part of the left wing on the terminal ramp as he taxis it out, and continues on to scrape more of the wing against the terminal proper until the plane finally comes to rest in the airport’s parking lot.
ED. NOTE: Notwithstanding the directive against distribution on the videos included in this report, the videos are provided courtesy of the City of St. George with its express permission for publication.
Marc Mortensen, assistant to the city manager of St. George City, said that at 12:50 a.m. that morning, Hedglin discarded his motorcycle on the east side of the airport and used a rug to get over the razor wire that lined the airport’s security fence. From there he somehow gained access to the aircraft.
Hedglin’s motorcycle was discovered by a police patrolling the area. The officer was returning to the terminal area where he saw a jet in the terminal parking lot surrounded by several damaged vehicles. The jet engines were still running when the officer came on the scene.
Hedglin’s attempt to taxi the plane resulted in the wings of the aircraft scraping against a jet bridge and the south side of the terminal. From there the jet went over a road and landscaping until it ended up in the parking lot.
After gaining access to the inside of the plane, Hedglin was found to be deceased via a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Though the investigation into the incident has been closed, allowing for the release of the surveillance video, Mortensen said: “It’s still inconclusive. No motive (for the plane theft and suicide) was ever determined.”
The following YouTube published by NYC Aviation TV pieced together several of the released videos into one continuous one.
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