Never really knew it, until now.". Although official accounts other than through live aviation audio were hard to come by at first, many passengers took to social media to report that pilots were telling them a man had stolen a plane. I met Hannah in Coos Bay, Oregon in 2010 while we were both going to school, the about me section says. 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. . I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. 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. And in recordings of conversations with air traffic controllers, Russell joked and laughed, though he was at times contemplative and raw. 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. 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 . Published He then flew around the area for about an hour, speaking at times with air traffic controllers and apologizing to loved ones for what he was about to do. Periodically, his voice cut into the dispatches. This story has been shared 110,450 times. An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. SKY KING 2: RETURN OF THE SKY KING https://t.co/2Uk1sA2oXQ. Yay air force . He would have flipped overhead switches and set the propellers of the Bombardier Q400 spinning before he roared away from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. 160. r/lostgeneration. We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. Even the small sections, most of it doesnt resemble a plane.. Ive got a lot of people that care about me. Who's Afraid of the Rorschach Inkblot Test? I hope it doesnt ruin your day. Up until then, he had seemed torn between life and death, at least considering the possibility of attempting a landing or ditching the aircraft in the sea. He preciously worked as a ground service agent at Horizon from 2015 to present. Richard Russell, AKA Rich, the man who took the Sea-Tac plane and crashed it. ATC said, "they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off", to which he replied, "Yeah right! 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). The story, despite seeming near-mythic, is true. Hours prior, he posted a message on Facebook that seemed to imply he was going to commit suicide, writing, "Sorry everyone. Russell, who worked for Horizon Air, a regional subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, flew the plane for 73 minutes before crashing it into remote Ketron Island, which has fewer than 20 residents. The Sky King of Sea-Tac Airport. The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding, Two Questions to Help You Spot a Clingy Partner-to-Be. SeaTac air traffic control made radio contact with Russell, the sole occupant, who described himself as a "broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess." Facebook Richard Russell plane crash video was released. 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. Confirmed info .. this is a single suicide male. pic.twitter.com/ziBAYv7cgn, Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018. You can listen to all of his SoundCloud clips here. 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. You seemed like a nice guy and a hell of a natural pilot., Seattle hijackers plane heist, midair stunts and fiery crash expose gaps in aviation security. Horizon Q4 prop hijacked by unauthorized person not a pilot. My names Richard Russell, Im 27 and currently living in Sumner, WA with my incredible wife Hannah. Russell is then seen walking into a restricted area meant for baggage handlers, getting onto a tarmac tow vehicle, and dragging the plane he was set to steal onto the runway. [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. 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.. I think I might mess something up there too. He was very, very friendly automatically willing to bring everyone in, Hannah Holmes, who also participates in Young Life, told The Seattle Times. Family friend Mike Matthews read a statement from Russells family that said the incident was a complete shock to them. We are working back ground on him now, the Pierce County Sheriff wrote. [29] An operational supervisor for Horizon Air described Russell as "a quiet guy" who was "well liked by the other workers". Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed. 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. He spun a plane around Friday evening without raising suspicion and climbed aboard with 76 empty seats behind him. If he was bipolar and did that, then I dont have to worry about doing that, because Im not bipolar. That is something that they do. The video was widely circulated online and by major news publications (shown below). 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. At one point, he explained that he did not know how to follow instructions to punch in data or how to assess his fuel consumption after takeoff. "[17] He asked ATC if he could get a job as a pilot with Alaska Airlines if he successfully landed the aircraft. Who is the aircraft on Runway 1-6 center? an air traffic controller can be heard saying. Although he was born in Key West, Fla. he moved to Wasilla when he was 7, according to a website he made in 2017. My names Richard Russell, Im 27 and currently living in Sumner, WA with my incredible wife Hannah. Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing it in a nearby field where he was arrested. On that day, Twitter[11] user @CityKing_Gank_ posted a clip of Patterson flying the plane over his town, garnering over 17,000 likes and 4,000 retweets in six days (shown below). Richard Russell was a suicidal airport ground services worker who stole an airplane from Sea-Tac . Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) August 11, 2018, People posted photos and videos to Twitter of a plume of smoke and possible crash site. [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. Damnit Andrew, peoples lives are at stake here, Rich said at one point in the audio, which you can listen to later in this article. Commercial aircraft are complex machines, he said. Today marks the third anniversary of the poetic death of Richard Russell, dubbed "Sky King," the young man who took an airplane for a glorious final flight. At one point, the controller suggests he might be able to get a job as a pilot after this and Russell replies, "Nah, I'm a white guy." I dont need that much help; Ive played some video games before, he told the controllers trying to help him. These statements should probably be considered the emotional projections of similarly disaffected people. Stay tuned., Richard Russell, Rich: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. At another point, Richard Russell said, Im down to 2100; I started at like 30-something.. People expressed an emotional connection with him through postings on social media, T-shirts, and tribute songs. He could have envisioned an aerial joyride and return to the ground. I suspect that most of the time they want to hear some kind of post-mortem diagnosis: He was a paranoid schizophrenic. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. He said of himself that, Ive got a lot of people that care about me. 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. "Sky King" is a nickname given to 29-year-old ground service operator Richard Russell after he stole a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 airliner from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) and died after crashing on Ketron Island in Puget Sound. In the audio clips, Russell calls himself "broken" and says he knows how to fly a little bit thanks to video games. 1.6K. 2007-2023 That day, Boston Globe journalist Matt Karolian tweeted a link to the Sea-Tac air traffic control broadcast, followed by an announcement that Russell revealed he would attempt a barrel roll maneuver (shown below). [36] He had been part of a tow team, which repositions aircraft on the airport apron, for about four years. Our first date, he kind of cornered me into it, Hannah Russell said to the site. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Updated Nov 30, 2022 at 4:37pm. At one point, Rich asked for help in getting the cabin depressurized, complaining he was getting lightheaded. Hijacker does not know how to land the plane. Before he took off, several people at the airport questioned what was going on. Can Humans Detect Text by AI Chatbot GPT? 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. We've received your submission. He carried with him a CB radio, sandwiches, beer, and a camera. Now a family is left to reckon with tragedy, while strangers find grim inspiration in his final act. Posted Sep 24, 2018. 0. The majority of the memes are in celebration and memorial of Russell, while others are more trollish shitposts. I don't want to. However, late in the evening of August 10, 2018, tower audio indicated that some planes were being released. The chilling footage of his final moments next shows Russell jumping onto the plane and presumably getting into the cockpit. Human remains were recovered from the site, the FBI said Sunday, and Russell is presumed dead in the crash. Like a lot of bags. But there appears to be no manifesto, no digital trail of warning signs from Russell. "[18] August 10, 2021 by Kirk Forlatt. Authorities described him as suicidal.. Legal Information: Know Your Meme is a trademark of Literally Media Ltd. By using this site, you are agreeing by the site's terms of use and privacy policy and DMCA policy. Full video form John Waldron on Facebook being shown on CNN #seatac pic.twitter.com/R98bl5uQBr. 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. Defying attacks, arts return to Somalia with first TV drama in 30 years, Divorced and remarried, these Afghan women are outlaws under Taliban rule. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed, the airport wrote. Thanks for contacting us. 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.. It was a strange day when Horizon Airlines Employee Richard "Beebo" Russell stole a plane in the middle of his working shift. Hannah and Beebo met at a Campus Crusade for Christ gathering at Southwestern Oregon Community College last year, the site reported. After listening many times to the recordings, I found his voice - alternately warm, scared, and funny - to . 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. On July 2, 1982, a . So I dont know how he achieved the experience that he did.. Rick Christenson, who was previously an operational supervisor with Horizon Air and who watched Russells flight over Puget Sound, described Russell to the Times as a quiet guy. It seemed like he was well-liked by the other workers, Christenson said. PostedSeptember 24, 2018 They were born, they laughed, they struggled, they loved, and they died. 0:00. I usually have to work outsidebut it allows me to do some pretty cool things too.. Russell, a ground services worker for Horizon Air, was permitted to get very close to passenger aircraft. Oh- theyve probably got anti-aircraftnot quite ready to bring it down just yet. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. Or that he appeared to be a happy, regular guy. Privacy, Richard Russell Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Questions, Richard Russell Details emerge of a compassionate man after Seattle plane heist and fiery crash, Richard Russell pilot of stolen Horizon Air plane had lighthearted tone before deadly crash, Pilot arrested after threatening to crash plane into Mississippi Walmart and eventually landing in a field, police say, Pilot threatening to crash hijacked plane into Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi. The media also started sharing audio clips of ongoing conversations between Russell and an air traffic controller. [28] It described the perpetrator, identified as 29-year-old Richard Russell,[29][30] as suicidal and said his actions did not constitute a "terrorist incident". No one else is thought to have been injured or killed, and the fighter jets did not fire . Russell, the sole occupant of the aircraft, perished in the crash. Now video was released. But that flight was his last. Wikipedia. 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.