Richard "Beebo" Russell: Sky King (throwback stolen - TigerDroppings I have flown from Sea-Tac many times, and know the landmarks Russell mentions well (Mt. Keep the aircraft nice and low, the tower responded to the man at one point, advising him to keep it over the water. What happened from then, left a. The flight data recorder may show how well Russell managed the aircrafts myriad functions. [23] The Q400 ultimately crashed at 20:43 local time[1] on Ketron Island in Puget Sound, Pierce County, Washington, killing the occupant and destroying the aircraft. The general feeling was, "It is a wonder that more of us don't crack from the tedium and meaninglessness of our consumer culture." His familys brief statement did not address any potential mental health issues. In 2018, a Horizon Air employee, Richard Russell, stole a plane with no prior flying experience, making international headlines. The video shows Russell wearing a shirt that reads The skys no limit, as he passed through security at the airport, where he worked. Weird times. Im going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. Theres something wrong with all of us. But as the cockpit recordings and videos of Russells antics spread, and Internet users uncovered his online postings, his final act drew both admirers and detractors. Sadly, he did not survive much longer at all. Here's the full story. 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." The sketch on Richard Russells WordPress page. 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). [20], Videos and radio transmissions of the event were followed online, immediately sparking a meme dubbing Russell the "Sky King". 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident - Wikipedia White nationalists and the 'Sky King' - The Saturday Paper The federal agencies will lead the investigation. He was on meth.. [5] Seattle Tower tried several times to get the pilot of the aircraft to identify himself on frequency, but received no response. Thanks for contacting us. People like me dont do things like that. The Sky King of Sea-Tac Airport | Psychology Today The mans bizarre and ultimately doomed flight pushed fighter planes into action. I dont want to hurt no one. This is a Tribute Video to the late Richard Russell, better known as the Sky King. [15] He said he was a "broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. This is a complete shock to us. On July 2, 1982, a . The day of the incident, a thread on 4chan's /pol/[14] board about the incident gained over 470 posts. Plane is a Q4. Authorities said they dont think he had a pilots license and arent sure how he was able to take off, much less perform complicated tricks in the air like a barrel roll. At one point, Russell told a controller he had played a lot of video games. His conversation with controllers revealed limited experience. The cockpit recordings are widely available online and it would be hard not to feel compassion while listening to them. 2007-2023 I'm listening through the archive of the radio chatter on the #seatac hijacking. Someone plucked a bag off a conveyor belt. The video was widely circulated online and by major news publications (shown below). 1:10. He said of himself that, Ive got a lot of people that care about me. 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. The fighter jets were scrambled from Portland. [37], Horizon Air CEO Gary Beck stated that, as far as the company knew, Russell did not have a pilot's license. Audio starts with another aircraft reporting the Q400 exiting the maintenance/cargo area and taking off without clearance. He was a quiet and well-liked young man who was active in his church. But he mentioned video games during his recorded conversation with air traffic control, which some have taken as a reference to flight simulator software. Commercial aircraft are complex machines, he said. Was doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills caused crash into Island. The Sheriffs Department added, Two military F 15 chased plane but was not involved in crash and confirmed, No passengers on plane.. After five hours, he arrived in a tow vehicle near the plane. The fire burned a 2-acre (0.8ha) area,[23] but was extinguished by the following morning. Richard "Skyking" Russell : r/lostgeneration A childhood friend remarked that Beebo was loved by everyone because he was kind and gentle to each person he met. Wife of Richard Russel, Hannahh Russel documented her seven-year-long marriage to the 29-year-old on Instagram ( Source : co ) "After failing to persuade Hannah of Alaska's awesomeness, we landed on Sumner due to its proximity to her family," he wrote in his blog. Well chalk it up to that. Tower, you need to call and scramble now, one pilot warned, according to the video. Public acts of violence such as mass shootings often reflect the perpetrators troubled, dark past. But after that apology, oblivion seemed like the only option left to him. According to Eckrote, the plane is highly fragmented and she said that a background investigation is underway to further clarify Richs motive. He appeared regretful about the pain he knew would inevitably visit his family. Published We believe there are no passengers on board. (More info in comments) 2 years ago today, Richard Russell, an airport ground service agent with no piloting experience, stole an Alaska Airlines Dash 8 and performed various stunts over the Puget Sound before crashing the plane on a sparsely populated island. You can listen to more archived aviation audio on the incident here, some of which captures the mans voice: READ NEXT: TikTok Influencers Son Murdered at Gas Station. 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. "[43] Some co-workers said that Russell had probably trained himself to fly using amateur flight simulation software. Perhaps the least we should do in the wake of such tragedies is to reflect upon the words attributed to Philo of Alexandria: Be kind, for everyone you meet is in the midst of a great struggle.. | The perpetrator, 29-year-old Richard Russell, was a Horizon Air ground service agent with no piloting experience. He tilted the wings and rumbled low over Puget Sound. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC, Psychology and the Mystery of the "Poisoned" Schoolgirls. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. I suspect that most of the time they want to hear some kind of post-mortem diagnosis: He was a paranoid schizophrenic. Around 9 PM Pacific Time on August 10th, a 29-year-old man named Richard Russell, stole a Q400 airplane from Seattle Tacoma International Airport and went for a joyride into the abyss. Mr. Russell was clearly overwhelmed with the world in which he found himself, a world vandalized, a world stripped of his ancestral . Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. 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. Facebook Or he could have had grim plans to take his own life. Im in the air right now. At one point, he says to the utterly professional air traffic controller, Im sorry about this. It seemed like he was well liked by the other workers. Sep 09, 2022 at 02:47PM EDT Many saw Russell as a man suffering from depression and sympathized with him. Preliminary info is that a mechanic from unknown airlines stole plane. Confirmed info .. this is a single suicide male. Wikipedia. Meanwhile, various tributes to Russell were uploaded to YouTube (shown below). in correct chronological orderthis took pIace over about 75 minutes. 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.. Richard Russell, AKA Rich or Beebo Russell, was named as the airport mechanic who stole a Horizon plane at Sea-Tac and crashed it. 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. Beck said the aerial maneuvers were "incredible" and that he "did not know how [Russell] achieved the experience that he did. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed. A moniker quickly took hold, echoed by others. "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. People expressed an emotional connection with him through postings on social media, T-shirts, and tribute songs. After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle . Goodbye" (shown below, left). On Facebook, he had liked the Republican Party and conservative personalities like Sean Hannity and Ben Shapiro. Disclaimer: I am in no way proficient in the arts.. Third, and perhaps most importantly, psychiatric diagnoses provide listeners with psychological distance from the victim. On August 10, 2018, a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) in Seattle, Washington. "[38], Russell was born in Key West, Florida, and moved to Wasilla, Alaska, at the age of seven. The plane crashed through several lines of 100-foot trees, the National Transportation Safety Board said, according to CNN. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital He also posted audio clips of interviews he conducted to SoundCloud for what appears to have been a multimedia college class. 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. Russell, the sole occupant of the aircraft, perished in the crash. 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. Who Was Richard Russell? Man Steals Airplane and Crashes | Time Sea-Tac airport confirmed the plane was down a short time later. "[34], Richard Russell was a Horizon Air ground service agent from Sumner, Washington. [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. RIP to the SkyKing. 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. "Heroes" - Peter Gabriel Russell flew the plane around Seattle for an hour while National, New Video Shows Man Stealing Horizon Air Plane In 2018 Incident, 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 death. Russell had no formal training as a pilot and did not have his pilots license. Gary Beck, CEO of Horizon Air, told The Seattle Times it was impressive that Russell pulled off incredible maneuvers like a barrel roll with no flying experience. Ah, minimum wage. When I heard that Mr. Russells aircraft had gone down, I thought, The poor bastard. And then I thought, How many tens of thousands of people are out there who are just like him?, Larry Walters and Rich Russell were people just like us. 1.6K. Its going to disappoint them to hear I did this, he hauntingly said before his death. 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. Powered by. The Sky King of Sea-Tac Airport. [20], Russell's family released a statement on August 11, stating they were "stunned and heartbroken" and "devastated by the events". I think I might mess something up there too. Nah, Im a white guy. That last line has caused some controversy online. [34][35] The FBI stated, "Interviews with work colleagues, friends, and familyand review of text messages exchanged with Russell during the incidentdid not identify any information that would suggest the theft of the aircraft was related to wider criminal activity or terrorist ideology. Richard Russell: Family of man who stole plane 'stunned and heartbroken' Yeah I dont know what the burnageis like on a takeoff but yeah. bit.ly/subAIRBOYD Various scanner recordings from liveatc.net and broadcastify.com SEA Ground, Tower, Departure/Approach. What have I done? In 2018, a Horizon Air employee, Richard Russell, stole a plane with no prior flying experience, making international headlines. To impress a woman, he arrived in a helicopter to take her on a classified mission, officials said. [4] The New York Times Richard Russell Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Questions, [5] The Washington Post Richard Russell Details emerge of a compassionate man after Seattle plane heist and fiery crash, [6] CBS News Richard Russell pilot of stolen Horizon Air plane had lighthearted tone before deadly crash, [10] CNN Pilot arrested after threatening to crash plane into Mississippi Walmart and eventually landing in a field, police say, [14] 4chan Pilot threatening to crash hijacked plane into Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi, Its not clear how he pulled off the intense maneuvers captured on video. The perpetrator, 29-year-old Richard Russell, was a Horizon Air ground service agent with no piloting experience. [46][47], N449QX, the aircraft involved in the incident, pictured 2 months before the crash. Seattle plane hijacker Richard Russell's haunting final words Ah, Rich, dont say stuff like that, the controller said. Mourners gathered in the comments section of his YouTube video. Ive got a lot of people that care about me. A week after Richard Russell stole a Horizon plane from Sea-Tac Airport and crashed it on Ketron Island, there are few hints about why he did it or how he was able to fly the aircraft. Im going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing in a field where he was arrested. He hoped perhaps to commission in the military after graduation. 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. Live aviation audio from the tower said, at one point, that dispatchers were urging Rich Russell to try to land that airplane safely and not hurt anybody while dealing with a snarl of stalled planes on the ground. The final descent at Ketron Island was determined to be intentional, and suicide was listed as the manner of death.