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Friday December 15 2:05 PM ET
Woman Disappears From Airplane in Mid-Flight

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - A high-tech company employee apparently plunged to her death when a door on a chartered airplane mysteriously opened in mid-flight -- but nobody reported her disappearance until almost an hour later, after the plane touched down, officials said on Friday.

Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman Nick Rossi said the woman ``apparently fell or jumped'' from the aircraft, but the circumstances remained unclear.

``The FBI ... has been involved in interviews with potential witnesses and associates,'' Rossi said, adding that the agency had been asked to investigate because it has jurisdiction over potential crimes aboard aircraft.

The woman, an employee of computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co., boarded the company-chartered twin turbo-prop airplane on Thursday for a regular shuttle run between
Roseville and San Jose, California.

Officials said pilots on the 15-seat DeHavilland DHC-6 aircraft, which carried five passengers, reported that a warning light in the cockpit first indicated a door on the plane was unlocked shortly after takeoff, prompting a precautionary landing in Sacramento.

With the door re-secured, the airplane took off again bound for San Jose. About three minutes later, as the plane was climbing, the pilot radioed that the door had opened again. Authorities believe the woman ``exited the craft'' at that point.

``About five miles southeast of Sacramento, at 2,000 feet, a female reportedly jumped or fell from the aircraft,'' Nelson told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Police declined to speculate on why the crew or other passengers aboard the plane failed to notify authorities of the woman's disappearance until after the airplane landed at San Jose about an hour later.

Hewlett-Packard declined to disclose the passenger's identity, saying only she worked in its purchasing department.

``We are deeply concerned and are helping authorities to determine what happened,'' the company said in a statement. ``Out of respect for the individuals involved, we are not providing additional information at this time.''

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