An airline employee stole an otherwise unoccupied passenger plane Friday from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and flew it for an hour with military jets chasing him before crashing in a wooded area 40 miles away.
. It did not elaborate. "Our hearts are with the families of the individual aboard as well as all of our Alaska Air and Horizon Air employees," said Constance von Muehlen, the airline's chief operating officer. "So, (he) had some knowledge but clearly wasn't a commercial pilot.". The FBI will lead the investigation, said Eckrote, the NTSB regional chief. 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident - Wikipedia It evens out in the end.". Playing What We Want In Seattle! Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com, Multiple western Washington residents indicted in connection to coast-to-coast drug ring, Bank accidentally left unlocked in Fresno, police say, Powerball jackpot winner identified as longtime Boeing employee, Officials: Mother identified as shooter in murder-suicide in Ohio, Court finds Federal Way gun store in contempt of court. While investigators concluded Russell intentionally crash the plane, his motive still remains a mystery. Sky King (RE-POST with new footage) || The Day an Airline Employee The incident is bizarre and tragic, but it is not unprecedented. After Russell talked periodically with air traffic controllers for about an hour, the plane crashed at Ketron Island,officials said. What was the richard russell plane crash story all about. Video from Friday showed the Horizon Air Q400 doing large loops and other dangerous maneuvers as the sun set on the Puget Sound. In audio recordings released over the internet, Russell can be heard chatting in an upbeat, enthusiastic tone with the air traffic controllers trying to talk him down. He said flying was a "blast" and that he didn't need much help: "I've played some video games before.". He said he wanted to create projects showing the contrast between his hard work on the ground and his high-flying free time traveling the globe. The jets' capability was appropriate to the potential task, one of the sources said, without offering details. One sketch that he posted included a drawing of a Q400 plane, the same kind of plane involved in Friday's crash. Nearby co-workers weren't even aware of Russell's actions, which happened six hours into his shift, according to reporters. Padilla and an a recently hired assistant boarded the plane, taxied it to the runway, took off, and head out over the Atlantic Ocean. SEATAC, Wash. - It was a shocking scene above the Puget Sound, as Horizon Airlines employee Richard Russell stole and flew a turboprop from Sea-Tac Airport while air traffic tried to talk him . The plane eventually crashed on sparsely populated Ketron Island, starting a fire in the woods but injuring no one outside the plane. Within minutes of the plane's takeoff, the military scrambled two armed F-15 jets from Oregon to follow it, according to local and airline authorities and two sources with knowledge of the situation. Amazingly, despite the unprecedented nature of this deadly feat, and the fact that it could have easily become a mass casualty event, Russells flight and fatal crash seemed to hardly make a splash in the national news. ", Russell posted collages of photos from his trips around the world, writing that travel was "what keeps me going in the most unfavorable circumstances.". KINGs Madison Wade reports. Subscribe to NBC News: http://nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC Watch more NBC video: http://bit.ly/MoreNBCNewsNBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and engaging news stories. Also see | 'I was blown away': Stepbrother of man who stole plane speaks out. But the plane slammed into tiny Ketron Island, a sparsely populated island southwest of Tacoma. Onlooker John Waldron took video that shows the plane rolling inverted at low altitude, then pulling into a half-loop in a aerobatic high-g maneuver called a split S. Whether through skill or luck, Russell managed to pull the plane out of its rapid descent just above the wave tops. Lastly, we've been reporting a lot only on the most famous case of suspected pilot suicide, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, and this weekend's tragedy bears at least a few similarities. . Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. The job of a ground service agent includes directing aircraft for takeoff and gate approach, handling baggage and tidying and de-icing planes, authorities said. Russell, who was a ground services employee for Horizon Air, sat in the plane's cockpit for nearly an hour and a half before the unauthorized takeoff. Foote was an experienced glider pilot and had undergone 100 hours of simulator flying in the Skyhawk and had hoped to become a military pilot before his ambitions were derailed by health issues. Aug. 12, 2018. "I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to "take some time away" from the team after allegedly brandishing a gun in a club, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case, Officials say man who stole plane was suicidal. Not long before the crash, a pilot who'd been helping controllers advise Russell appears to mention the maneuver. Newly-obtained surveillance video from 2018 shows how Richard Russell, then a Horizon Ground service agent with no pilot experience, successfully stole the plane before crashing to his. That includes both domestic and international flights. Im coming home! But it was not to be. The whole saga took place late on a Friday night in the west-coast time zone; by Monday morning, the constant news churn of the middle years of the Trump presidency seemed to have pushed any follow-up coverage of the Horizon Air crash out of the headlines. He flew until the plane ran out of fuel and died in the ensuing crash. All rights reserved. Please dont hesitate to utilize this resource. The man has been identified as Richard Russell, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN on Saturday night. "Oh man. Investigators said Richard Russell worked alone when he was working as a ground service agent for the airline, and that he towed the turboprop out a hanger, climbed into the cockpit, and took off. "Russell was known as a quiet guy who read a lot," according to one witness statement. A beautifully-written Rolling Stone article published in summer of 2021 tells the story of Russells life up to the moment he towed the plane onto the runway and hopped in the cockpit, attempting to find meaning or motive to help explain why this goofy, God-fearing baggage handler decided to steal a plane he likely knew he couldnt successfully land. Nearby co-workers weren't even aware of Russell's actions, which happened six hours into his shift, according to reporters. I don't need that much help. A Warner Bros. I feel really bad for Richard and for his family. The man has been identified as Richard Russell, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN on Saturday night. F-15 fighter jets scrambled to intercept the Q400, which ultimately crashed into Ketron Island, about 30 miles from the airport. The FBI has recovered the flight data recorder and components of the cockpit voice recorder from the Horizon aircraft that crashed onto Ketron Island Friday night. Richard Russell was a suicidal airport ground services worker who stole an airplane from Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle, Washington, and took it on a dramatic unauthorized flight,. Now, nearly four years after the event, authorities have released new video footage showing how 28-year-old Russell who went by the nickname Beebo got through the airport and into the 76-seat plane that he flew to his death. I've played some video games before," Russell responds. Russell took the Q400 from a cargo area at the north end of Sea-Tac Airport on August 10. Jeff Wise is a New York-based science journalist specializing in aviation and psychology. Surveillance footage obtained by KOMO shows 28-year-old Richard Russell using a tow vehicle to pull a Horizon Air Q400 aircraft onto the tarmac before climbing into the cockpit on August 10, 2018. One sketch that he posted included a drawing of a Q400 plane, the same kind of plane involved in Friday's crash. Later that day he stole an Alaska Air turboprop aircraft and crashed it into a remote island in Puget Sound. Potential targets included tens of thousands of fans assembling at Safeco Field, about 12 miles away, for a sold-out Pearl Jam concert just as he took off. Chilling CCTV footage shows Richard Russell stealing plane - HITC New video released Wednesday shows what first responders found after a plane stolen from Sea-Tac Airport crashed on a south Puget Sound island last August. The plane didn't require a key, but it did require buttons and switches to be activated in a particular order. A curious and ultimately tragic story from 2018 finally has a little more context, thanks to security camera footage. strangest, scariest, most bizarre events of 2018. Russell echoed those claims in his last conversation with air traffic control. Enter for your chance to win a visit to the Disneyland Resort with 96.5 JACK FM! Russell, a 3-1/2-year Horizon employee, worked as a ground service agent. "Nah, I mean, I don't need that much help. The plane was a Bombardier Q400, a turboprop that seats 76 people, owned by Horizon Air, part of Alaska Airlines. An FBI investigation found Alaska Airlines ramp employee Richard Russell intentionally crashed the aircraft after flying for more than an hour. among other things. "I never thought I would work as a Ground Service Agent (GSA) for an Airlines company," he wrote in a blog post in September 2017. I hope they can make it through this.". video Plane crashes near Seattle airport. Horizon airline employee, 28-year-old Richard 'Bebo' Russell, stole a plane and took off before crashing into remote Pierce County island More Videos Next up in 5 Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The plane was a Bombardier Q400, a turboprop that seats 76 people, owned by Horizon Air, part of Alaska Airlines. Relatives of Richard Russell say they are "stunned and heartbroken" after the airline worker stole a passenger plane Friday from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and was killed when he crashed 25 miles away. The Pierce County Medical Examiners Office has confirmed the remains belong to Richard Russell, who took the empty Horizon Air turboprop plane from Sea-Tac Airport.