Russell was active in his local community, serving as a leader at Young Life, a Christian youth ministry. Thanks for contacting us. The mans bizarre and ultimately doomed flight pushed fighter planes into action. Ive played some video games before.. (@luketadams) August 11, 2018. After 29-year-old airline employee Richard B. Russell stole a plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday night and crashed it into Ketron Island in Puget Sound, questions remain about why and how he undertook the ultimately fatal flight. This is not a terrorist incident. I think Im gonna try to do a barrel roll, and if that goes good, Im just gonna nose down and call it a night.. The incident led to a dramatic and tragic night on August 10, 2018, as aircraft were grounded at Sea-Tac while fighter jets followed the man and air traffic controllers tried unsuccessfully to help him land the aircraft. Audio captured emotional conversations between the man, named as Rich, and air traffic controllers trying to help him land safely. Old Medication, New Use: Can Prazosin Curb Drinking? "[21] When an air traffic controller requested he land the plane after this maneuver, he said "I don't know. 7 things to know", "One year after stolen Horizon plane crash, scars remain on Ketron Island", "FBI releases classified documents from 2018 Horizon Air plane theft, crash", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2018_Horizon_Air_Q400_incident&oldid=1136228770, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 10:06. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. People like me dont do things like that. He spun a plane around Friday evening without raising suspicion and climbed aboard with 76 empty seats behind him. Male is confirmed a suicidal male. More information as we learn more. Thats McChord field, the controller tells Richard Russell. One man wrote on Twitter, Some dude stole a plane from #Seatac (Allegedly), did a loop-the-loop, ALMOST crashed into #ChambersBay, then crossed in front of our party, chased by fighter jets and subsequently crashed. Location of SeattleTacoma International Airport (north) and Ketron Island (south) within northwestern Washington state. Magazines, stole a plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Or create a free account to access more articles, 'Beebo Was Loved By Everyone.' At another point, Richard Russell said, Im down to 2100; I started at like 30-something.. SeaTac airport., Morgan Chesky, a reporter for KOMO News, wrote, Per JBLM source: After being contacted by F-15s, stolen plane began to nose dive, crashing in north Pierce County., NTSB investigator Debra Eckrote held a Saturday morning press conference, the day after the crash, and indicated that investigators are trying to determine what his process was and where the aircraft was going. She identified Rich as ground support so, you know, they have access to aircraft, and described it as lucky that the plane crashed on a very underpopulated island.. His familys brief statement did not address any potential mental health issues. He somehow managed to execute a barrel roll and a few other aerobatic maneuvers before crashing the aircraft onto a sparsely populated island, killing only himself. Its burned quite a bit faster than I expected., He also said, Im gonna land it, in a safe kind of manner. As the voice recording shows, Beebos intent was not to harm anyone and he was right in saying that there are so many people who loved him.. The incident aircraft was a Bombardier Q400, owned by Horizon Air (and operating for Alaska Airlines) with the registration N449QX[2][3][4] and serial number 4410. In a final video that he posted to YouTube, Rich Russell showed an active life full of travel and adventure. Beebos intent was not to harm anyone, and he was right in saying that there are so many people who loved him, Mathews said. ATC said, "they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off", to which he replied, "Yeah right! We consider ourselves bakery connoisseurs and have to try a new one every place we go. His website is filled with photos and videos of his travels and was previously linked to his Instagram account. Tulepo Police Chief John Quaka told CNN that Patterson had "some flight instruction" but was still in training. Pilots kept plane out of harms way and people on ground safe. I dont want to hurt no one. Latest update from tower indicates no interest on his part to land the plane. Richard Russell, a ground control agent, died after he stole the plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in August 2018 and drove it into the ground of a remote island in the Puget Sound . At another point, Richard Russell said, Im down to 2100; I started at like 30-something.. Weird times., CBS News reporter Kris Van Cleave wrote, FAA sources say it appears an airline employee stole a Horizon Air Turbo Prop from SeaTac and took off and crashed Ketron Island outside Seattle. He shared a tweet from a woman named Victoria, who wrote, Sitting on a plane at SeaTac Airport, a Horizon employee just hijacked an airplane. Patch confirmed there was a security incident underway at SeaTac. He had psychotic depression. I met Hannah in Coos Bay, Oregon in 2010 while we were both going to school, the about me section says. To download the mp3, right-click here and choose "save link as" or "save target as." Around 9 PM Pacific Time on August 10th, 2018, a 29-year-old man named Richard Russell, stole a Q400 airplane from Seattle Tacoma International Airport and went for a joyride [] Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. To be honest with you, commercial aircraft are complex machines. A 2012 article in the World described how Russell met his wife. [25][26] No injuries were reported to residents of the sparsely populated island despite the crash site being in close proximity to at least one cabin, which was occupied at the time of the incident. Video related to richard russell, rich: 5 fast facts you need to know, Click to subscribe! Russell cites his position at Horizon in his blog as well. Now a family is left to reckon with tragedy, while strangers find grim inspiration in his final act. [5] A nearby Alaska Airlines jet on the ground reported that the aircraft began a takeoff roll with its wheels smoking,[5] and an unauthorized take-off was made at 19:32 local time (02:32 UTC, August 11). Plane is a Q4. [44], In the days after the crash, clean up and recovery crews contracted by Alaska Airlines and their insurers were present on the island to remove debris. After he landed, Mr. Walters was arrested and charged with unlawful operation of an aircraft within a controlled air traffic area. Audio from the SeaTac tower reported that aircraft were lined up on the tarmac at one point. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Monteith also recalled that Russell had been in the cockpit of an Embraer 175 with him, and that Russell asked him about his "flows, which is the preflight preparation I do for takeoff. Below are some of the clips. USA TODAY. Footage of Patterson flying the plane went viral on social media and people quickly started comparing it to the 2018 Sky King incident. Theyre not as easy to fly as, say, a Cessna 150, Beck said. They turned him into a hero with the name, and with it came a lot of memes. Now, in new footage of the moments before he took off, the 29-year-old can be seen walking through airport security with a The Skys No Limit T-shirt. Together, they started a bakery in North Bend, Oregon. SKY KING 2: RETURN OF THE SKY KING https://t.co/2Uk1sA2oXQ. All further inquiries should be directed to the Seattle FBI office", "Alaska Airlines: Everything We Know About the Suicidal Hijacker", "Airplane taken from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has crashed", "Authorities probe how 'suicidal' employee could steal plane from Seattle airport", "Man who sought 'serenity' before crashing stolen plane near Seattle is identified", "Human remains, black box found from plane stolen by Seattle airport employee", "FBI Completes Investigation into August 2018 Unauthorized Flight from Seattle-Tacoma Airport", "Horizon Air Worker Who Crashed Plane Bent on Suicide, Not Terror", "Seattle: stolen plane crashes after rogue take-off from Sea-Tac airport", "Man who took Horizon Air plane from Sea-Tac Airport was quiet, well liked, says former co-worker", "Richard Russell was a jokester who complained about work, but Sea-Tac plane heist still baffles friends", "Family of man who stole plane at Sea-Tac express 'shock,' others say 'Beebo' was friendly guy", "Authorities don't believe man who stole plane had a pilot's license", "Who was Richard Russell? I wouldn't want to do that. The man who stole a commercial aeroplane in Seattle, and took his life by crashing it, has become a folk hero to neo-Nazi groups and incels, drafted into a poisonous delusion that is becoming mainstream. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed. Richard Russell, AKA Rich or Beebo Russell, was named as the airport mechanic who stole a Horizon plane at Sea-Tac and crashed it. We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. My logo draft will be a generic suit case with minimalistic travel stickers, encircled by the text: Russell Hustle. I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it, you know? Nine-tenths of them are from a lower socioeconomic class. Someone sneak on board?, A man named Tyler Lucas wrote, Sitting on the runway at SeaTac, preparing for departure. We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. pic.twitter.com/5z4BYRBrcU, Kierra Elfalan (@KierraElfalanTV) August 12, 2018. We are aware of an incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. It may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but Beebo was a warm, compassionate man, the statement read. Buy "Richard "SkyKing" Russell" by BogTron as a Sticker. He played athletics in high school in Wasilla, Alaska. Newly released CCTV footage captures the harrowing moment a Washington state airport employee stole an Alaska Airlines plane and took it for a joyride before fatally crashing it. sky king, sky king memes, richard russell, 4chan, sky king 2, based. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. Sea-Tac airport confirmed the plane was down a short time later. He also had a pellet gun, with which he eventually shot several of the balloons, beginning his slow descent. People contended that he didnt want to die "he just wanted to feel alive for once in his life.. He jokes around with the air traffic controller as he tries to explain to Russell how to land the plane, although as the conversation goes on that doesn't seem to be his intention, even saying, "I wasn't really planning on landing it." On his blog, Richard talks about how he and his wife once ran a bakery. It is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. Aw man, those guys would rough me up if I tried landing there, Rich says. After performing the stunt, along with other maneuvers, the plane crashed on Ketron Island in the Puget Sound. Literally Media Ltd. On July 2, 1982, a . Human remains were recovered from the site, the FBI said Sunday, and Russell is presumed dead in the crash. At one point during the exchange, Russell said he knew how to put the landing gear down but that I really wasnt planning on landing it. Russel also told the controller that he was just a broken man.. He then boards an empty 70-seater plane and took off. Because I am a clinical psychologist, people come up to me after a news event like this and ask my opinion. No one else is thought to have been injured or killed, and the fighter jets did not fire on him, authorities said. Its going to disappoint them to hear I did this, he hauntingly said before his death. Wish me luck! Or that he appeared to be a happy, regular guy. On LinkedIn, he wrote that he was owner/operator of Hannah Maries Bakery from 2012 through 2015 in North Bend, Oregon. [4] It landed at SeattleTacoma International Airport at 13:35 local time the afternoon of the incident, after an in-service flight from Victoria, British Columbia. I think I might mess something up there too. [9], On August 11th, 2018, journalist Jimmy Tomson tweeted out a series of audio clips in which Russell can be heard talking to an air traffic controller (shown below).[3]. Nah, I'm a white guy. He claimed to have buzzed Mount Rainier. Magazines, Digital The audio between the man known as Rich and air traffic controllers further captured his demeanor. What now? Airport (@flySEA) August 11, 2018. The episode has also suggested that Russell was more complicated than the easygoing persona of his known online footprint. I hope they can make it through this. He said that airline employees go through background checks. Mona Lazar. At one point, he says to the utterly professional air traffic controller, Im sorry about this. In the coming days, articles about the incident were published in The New York Times,[4] CBS News[6] and The Washington Post. Phone scammers tried to rob a grandma in Canada. Someone plucked a bag off a conveyor belt. The fire burned a 2-acre (0.8ha) area,[23] but was extinguished by the following morning. When I arrived, he was in the kitchen, in the middle of his Sunday morning ritual of cleaning his cleaning supplies. After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle . Terrorism was ruled out, and Russell was found to have acted alone. (Video: Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post). About to take off. Sep 09, 2022 at 02:47PM EDT He tilted the wings and rumbled low over Puget Sound. Hey, I found myself in a predicament. You can listen to more archived aviation audio on the incident here, some of which captures the mans voice: The site Airline Geeks.com reported, Reports saying that two F-15s have intercepted an Alaska Air Q400, operated by Horizon Air., The Twitter page Royal S. King wrote, On a lake in Tacoma and 2 F-15 have intercepted at @AlaskaAir Q400 south of @SeaTacAirport. Another man wrote, @flytruenorth Are you following this story? [5] Seattle Tower tried several times to get the pilot of the aircraft to identify himself on frequency, but received no response. Goodbye" (shown below, left). Videos posted to social media showed the other side of his skills. But that flight was his last. I wouldnt want to do that. Second, psychiatric diagnosis also suggests simple solutions to complex problems: If he did it because he was mentally ill, we need more widely available mental health services.. It seemed like he was well liked by the other workers. New footage has been released from a 2018 incident in which an airline ground service agent named Richard Russell stole a turboprop plane from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and crashed it into an island in the Puget Sound. Happy birthday to the man who keeps me laughing and always improves the view ? she wrote with one in 2017. Richard Russell, a ground control agent, died after he stole the plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airportin August 2018 and drove it into the ground of a remote island in the Puget Sound, authorities said at the time. Family Left Heartbroken After Airline Worker Steals and Crashes Plane. But is true.., Here is a statement from the family of Richard Russell, the Horizon Air employee who stole a plane, crashed it into Ketron Island.This is a complete shock to us. Disclaimer: I am in no way proficient in the arts.. This story has been shared 176,044 times. Hello, Love. Russell flew wild loops over Puget Sound, screamed low over frightened onlookers and had existential and, at turns, bizarre chats with air traffic controllers as two Air Force F-15 jets gave chase. Residents of the island bore some of the cost for cleaning up, and negotiations were initiated for their reimbursement by Alaska Airlines' insurers. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Gary Beck, chief executive of Horizon Air, told reporters Saturday that the acrobatics and maneuvers, including barrel rolls and one loop that brought Russell feet from the waters surface, wereincredible.. KINGs Madison Wade reports. ", Currently we have a 29yr old who stole this plane & is threatening to crash it into something. TikTok Influencers Son Murdered at Gas Station. [12] Flights in and out of SeaTac Airport were temporarily suspended. Nah, Im a white guy. That last line has caused some controversy online. As the voice recordings show, Beebos intent was not to harm anyone and he was right in saying that there are so many people who love him.. Theres something wrong with all of us. He hoped perhaps to commission in the military after graduation. His conversation with controllers revealed limited experience. We had a ground stop for quite a while here, a dispatcher says. I don't want to. I'm listening through the archive of the radio chatter on the #seatac hijacking. 2007-2023 Literally Media Ltd. The equipment was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for processing. A friend wrote on Facebook, So heart brokenhe was such a kind person to me. Its burned quite a bit faster than I expected., He also said, Im gonna land it, in a safe kind of manner. Im in the air right now. After listening many times to the recordings, I found his voice - alternately warm, scared, and funny - to . This is a Tribute Video to the late Richard Russell, better known as the Sky King. [18] After the incident, Joel Monteith, a pilot for SkyWest Airlines, relayed to an emergency dispatcher that in 2017, he saw Russell and another man "pointing and flipping switches" in the cockpit of a SkyWest aircraft parked at SeaTac Airport. [41] They sold the bakery in 2015 so his wife could be closer to her family; they settled in Sumner, Washington, and Russell found employment with Horizon Air.