From financial news on HP (HWP)

Friday December 15, 2:01 pm Eastern Time

U.S. woman disappears from airplane in mid-flight

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec 15 (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.
(NYSE:HWP - news), 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 (eight km) southeast of Sacramento, at 2,000 feet
(610 metres), 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 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.''