The perpetrator, 29-year-old Richard Russell, was a Horizon Air ground service agent with no piloting experience. Hey all! 2007-2023 U.S. Airlines Are Editing Their Websites to Remove Taiwan's Name at China's Request, What America's Richest Ski Town's Handling of COVID-19 Shows. Sea-Tac airport confirmed the plane was down a short time later. I suspect that most of the time they want to hear some kind of post-mortem diagnosis: He was a paranoid schizophrenic. 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., Hannah Russell: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. [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. People like me dont do things like that. Terrorism was ruled out, and Russell was found to have acted alone. No one else is thought to have been injured or killed, and the fighter jets did not fire on him, authorities said. At another point, he says he's going to try to "do a barrel roll." Plane is a Q4. The equipment was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for processing. Many people online compared the incident to 2018's incident with Richard Russell, calling Patterson "Sky King 2.0" or "Sky King 2. Its gonna be crazy, he tells traffic control, according to the video provided to local Seattle news outlet KOIN. The man, known as Rich in air traffic control audio and dubbed the sky king on Twitter, broke hearts on social media as people followed the unauthorized flight before it came to a fatal end. In 1993, Lawnchair Larry Walters was named an At-Risk Survivor in the annual Darwin Awards. 1:10. in. 2007-2023 Literally Media Ltd. Filed under Teachers are quitting and they will have no one to run their schools, but they still won't give in and support solutions that would hurt property values. I got a lot of people that care about me. The incident resulted in Russell losing his life when he crashed on Ketron Island in Puget Sound, but people on sites like 4chan refused to let his story end there. He did it because he was depressed. As David Hume observed, our brains habitually seek out causation and are restless until a cause, even an erroneous cause, is determined. As users on Twitter and 4chan shared and discussed the story and further learned about Russell through the conversations with air traffic control and subsequent articles about his life, they deemed him "Sky King" as a title of respect. "[22], The two F-15s attempted to direct the aircraft toward the Pacific Ocean, and did not fire at it. A childhood friend remarked that Beebo was loved by everyone because he was kind and gentle to each person he met. Authorities said they did not believe he had a pilots license. According to Eckrote, the plane is highly fragmented and she said that a background investigation is underway to further clarify Richs motive. [31][32] On August 12, the FBI said that it had recovered the flight data recorder along with components of the cockpit voice recorder. After performing the stunt, along with other maneuvers, the plane crashed on Ketron Island in the Puget Sound. "[16][19] He added that he "wasn't really planning on landing it. This is a Tribute Video to the late Richard Russell, better known as the Sky King. [5] It was not scheduled to fly again that day. More information as we learn more, Alaska Airlines wrote on Twitter around 9:20 p.m. on the west coast. Im praying for #Rich tonightnot just the guy who stole a plane from #SeaTac, but every guy like Rich who (it seemsbut Ill admit Im assuming a lot here) is suffering and cannot find a better way out. You went out the way most of us dream, one user wrote. I was dead set against it. Their business contained a sign that read, I have loved you with an everlasting love. What happened from then, left a. How I've Made $280k Selling Spreadsheets on Etsy. A moniker quickly took hold, echoed by others. A pair of F-15C jets were scrambled in response to Russells flight before he crashed one hour and 15 minutes after takeoff. On Facebook, Rich, using the name Beebo Russell, wrote that he lived in Sumner, Washington, was from Wasilla, Alaska, and was married to Hannah Russell, who works as an assistant pastry chef and waitress, according to her social media account. Footage of Russell performing the barrel roll was captured on video by Facebook[2] user John Waldron. 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 [] [45] The aircraft was worth $30million, all of which was paid under the company's insurance policy "with no deductibles. Hello, Love. Sea-Tac Airport (@SeaTacAirport) August 11, 2018. | I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. The FBI is investigating the stunning heist, which has raised concerns about the security of commercial aircraft and mental health issues among airline workers nearly 17 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Yay air force . I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it, you know? The sketch on Richard Russells WordPress page. The flight data recorder may show how well Russell managed the aircrafts myriad functions. And in recordings of conversations with air traffic controllers, Russell joked and laughed, though he was at times contemplative and raw. He spun a plane around Friday evening without raising suspicion and climbed aboard with 76 empty seats behind him. ", "Plane Thief Said He Trained on Games, Didn't Plan to Land", "NORAD: Fighter jets were trying to direct stolen plane over Pacific Ocean when it crashed", "Towboat crew dropped everything to respond to Ketron Island crash", "Firefighters battle more than flames after Ketron Island plane crash", "Seattle plane crash: 'heartbroken' family remember gentle man who meant no harm", "Ketron Island residents grateful Horizon Air plane didn't crash into homes", "Thanks to everyone for sharing accurate information, insuring the public's safety. The Sky King of Sea-Tac Airport. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Hearing Mr. Russell speak during his final hour is an emotional experience. With this blog I hope to showcase all that Ive learned in Ms. Newmans Communications 210 class., His WordPress page includes a sketch that reads, Continuing with the theme of ground service work and travel benefits, I plan to create a simple logo that expresses both. You couldnt even tell it was a plane except for some of the bigger sections, like the wing section, western Pacific region chief Debra Eckrote said. On 4chan,[7][8] threads dedicated to Russell were submitted over the next several days, many of which contained photoshops, image macros and fan arts praising the incident and referring to Russell as "Sky King" (shown below). pic.twitter.com/Ra4LcIhwfU. Another called it cathartic and liberating.. After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighters were scrambled to intercept the aircraft. Rainier, the Olympic Mountains). I dont need that much help; Ive played some video games before, he told the controllers trying to help him. They deemed Russell the Sky King inspiring an outpouring of memes in his memorial and a possible copycat this September. He sounds just like anyone else would if they suddenly found themselves in a similar situation. At another point, Richard Russell said, Im down to 2100; I started at like 30-something.. It is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. Two F-15 fighter planes were scrambled to follow Rich, who eventually crashed into a wooded area a little over an hour after takeoff, killing only himself. [Im] just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Russell had no formal training as a pilot and did not have his pilots license. We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. Other video shows him clocking in to work. Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing in a field where he was arrested. Hijacker does not know how to land the plane. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed. Known as Beebo to family and friends, Russell was in his youth a gregarious, outgoing star athlete at Wasilla High School in Alaska, according to The Anchorage Daily News, running track and wrestling. After five hours, he arrived in a tow vehicle near the plane. Well chalk it up to that. Will many of us have a better story to tell when we get to wherever were going, one Reddit user saidin a thread. Magazines, stole a plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Or create a free account to access more articles, 'Beebo Was Loved By Everyone.' Who is the aircraft on Runway 1-6 center? an air traffic controller can be heard saying. Cast Your Vote To Select The Meme Of The Month! Russell wrote that he was pursuing his Bachelor of Social Sciences and hoped to work his way up to a management position at Horizon Air or to join the military or law enforcement. Airport (@flySEA) August 11, 2018. At one point, he says to the utterly professional air traffic controller, Im sorry about this. It may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but Beebo was a warm, compassionate man, the statement read. About. But he mentioned video games during his recorded conversation with air traffic control, which some have taken as a reference to flight simulator software. These statements should probably be considered the emotional projections of similarly disaffected people. Never really knew it, until now, Richard Russell said at one point. Ah, Rich, dont say stuff like that, the controller said. The airline confirmed that an unauthorized take-off occurred. Wish me luck! 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. Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) August 11, 2018, People posted photos and videos to Twitter of a plume of smoke and possible crash site. More recently, he listed his occupation as operations agent for Horizon Air at Sea-Tac since April 2018. A friend wrote on Facebook, So heart brokenhe was such a kind person to me. [5], On September 3rd, 2022, it was reported that a 10-year Tupelo Aviation employee, Cory Wayne Patterson, stole a twin-engine plane from the Tupelo Regional Airport. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. About 1 hour and 15 minutes after takeoff, Russell died by intentionally crashing the aircraft on lightly populated Ketron Island in Puget Sound. At one point in the dramatic audio, Richard Russell told the tower he was losing an engine. His performance there was a disappointment; he left for Southwestern Oregon Community College, where he met his wife at a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting. quote: On August 10, 2018, a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) in Seattle, Washington. We are aware of an incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. The general feeling was, "It is a wonder that more of us don't crack from the tedium and meaninglessness of our consumer culture." He was dubbed Sky King and tributes were offered to him. On August 11th, 2018, a post about the plane crash was submitted to 4chan's /pol/ board,[1] where an anonymous user replied "Sky King?" The audio between the man known as Rich and air traffic controllers further captured his demeanor. 0:00. RIP Sky King, a user wrote. Richard Russell, who dreamed of being in the military and once ran a bakery with his wife, was identified as the suicidal airport ground services worker who stole an airplane from Sea-Tac International Airport and took it on a dramatic unauthorized flight, where it was chased by fighter planes as he attempted stunts in the air before the plane crashed.