Havoc-raising pilot wanted in killing

• Tweet

ST. GEORGE, Utah, July 17 (UPI) -- A pilot who created havoc at a small Utah airport Tuesday before shooting himself was wanted in the slaying of his girlfriend, police say.

Airline Capt. Brian Joseph Hedglin, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colo., hopped a fence and entered the St. George Municipal Airport, boarded an aircraft and then used it to damage a plane, a terminal building and some parked cars.

He then shot himself, a source at SkyWest airline told ABC News. The airline said the man was an employee of SkyWest but had been on administrative leave.

The source told ABC Hedglin hopped aboard a 50-seat regional jetliner, clipped a smaller plane and ripped through a fence. The broadcaster said it wasn't clear whether the stolen plane left the ground.

Hedglin had been named a suspect in the killing of 39-year-old girlfriend Christina Lopez Cornejo, ABC News affiliate KRDO-TV, Colorado Springs. Her body was found Friday at her home in Colorado Springs.

The report said the two were members of the Colorado National Guard.

All commercial flights at the airport were canceled until further notice.

ABC said SkyWest is a regional airline based in St. George that operates flights for larger airlines with a fleet of 314 aircraft.