safe inside, criminal minds [ 1 ]

020. a thousand suns

"All right, let's go, Garcia." Hotch says as everybody gets on the jet.

"Trans Alliance flight 420 just crashed in a Colorado field northwest of Durango." Penelope informs.

"Any survivors?" Kate asks.

"152 passengers, all presumed dead." Hotch says.

"Where was it coming from?" Derek asks.

"Pittsburgh. It was going to Phoenix." Penelope says.

"So it happened mid-flight? The plane just fell out of the sky?" JJ asks.

"That's highly unusual. 80% of plane crashes happen within 3 minutes of takeoff or 8 minutes of landing." Spencer says.

"Well, an early call came into local law enforcement from a witness who said he saw "a streak of light" in the sky just before the crash." Penelope says.

"Surface to air missile." Derek says.

"We've been asked to determine if there was a crime. And if so, give the profile of the offender." Rossi says.

"We'll be working with a joint task force. Everyone's on their way to the crash site now." Hotch says.

"I know flying's safer, but I still wish you were driving. Safe travels. Call me when you get there." Penelope says before hanging up.

+++

Danielle, Spencer, and Kate are at the crash site. Kate uses a glove to pick up a small toy truck.

"The plane broke up in 5 main sections. The two wings, the aft hull and tail, the forward hull and cockpit, which we have here." The guy leads them over to it.

"How large is the spread?" Spencer asks.

"About a half a mile."

"That means the plan broke up before impact." Spencer says. "Have you found the digital flight data recorder yet?"

"We're still searching. It might have been driven deep into the ground after impact." The guy says. "The good news is the DFDR and the cockpit voice recorder are in a single unit, so we're only looking for one black box."

"Where was the copilot found?" Danielle asks.

"About 20 yards that way." The guy points. "Excuse me." He walks off.

"You've been quiet." Spencer notes.

"Sorry." Kate says.

"You know, a disaster of this magnitude is really hard to wrap your mind around, let alone your feelings." Spencer says.

"You don't need to worry about me." Kate says. "What, are you gonna profile me now?"

"It's hard to turn it off sometimes." Spencer says.

"Try living with him." Danielle quips.

"I guess I should just tell you guys this." Kate says. "Hotch and Rossi already know. My sister and brother-in-law died in 9/11. They were working at the Pentagon."

"So sorry." Spencer says.

"Yeah, me, too." Danielle says.

"I can imagine this must obviously bring back a lot of painful memories." Spencer says.

"Yeah." Kate says. She sniffs. "Anyway, I don't want to do that weepy agent with the tragic past, so you don't have to walk on eggshells around me." She starts to walk off.

"My girlfriend was killed in front of me and my mom has schizophrenia. Since we're sharing." Spencer says.

"Well, if we're sharing, I have an abusive ex. Plus, the mom thing." Danielle says.