skyking richard russell skyking richard russell

The majority of the memes are in celebration and memorial of Russell, while others are more trollish shitposts. A black family confronts a 70-year-old killing and a white mans exoneration, A Horizon Air employee described as suicidal stole an empty plane at Seattles airport and crashed it into a nearby island on Aug. 10. It is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. [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. 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). Posted Sep 24, 2018. 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. Horizon Q4 prop hijacked by unauthorized person not a pilot. 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. He was a faithful husband, a loving son, and a good friend. I met my husband when a friend sent him over to my house to cure my hiccoughs. 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. Richard Russell had a website that appeared to have been for a college communications class. The episode has also suggested that Russell was more complicated than the easygoing persona of his known online footprint. Memes about Sky King spread across the internet after the incident. Audio released of Russells conversation with an air traffic controller suggests that he was struggling with mental health issues, but his motive for stealing the plane remains unclear. His conversation with controllers revealed limited experience. Facebook Richard Russell plane crash video was released. After five hours, he arrived in a tow vehicle near the plane. Public acts of violence such as mass shootings often reflect the perpetrators troubled, dark past. Rest in peace Rich. I'm listening through the archive of the radio chatter on the #seatac hijacking. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed, the airport wrote. Audio starts with another aircraft reporting the Q400 exiting the maintenance/cargo area and taking off without clearance. However, late in the evening of August 10, 2018, tower audio indicated that some planes were being released. Luke Adams ? #seatac., A woman named Robanne Stading wrote on Twitter, #seatac airport is on a ground halt because evidently a mechanic is flying an unauthorized flightseeing trip around the mtns. On August 10, 2018, Mr. Russell, known as Beebo to his friends and family, helped himself to a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop and took it on a 75-minute joyride. 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. He sounds just like anyone else would if they suddenly found themselves in a similar situation. My logo draft will be a generic suit case with minimalistic travel stickers, encircled by the text: Russell Hustle. (If you need help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.). An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. Russell had no formal training as a pilot and did not have his pilots license. 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. (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. ATC said, "they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off", to which he replied, "Yeah right! Russell said to dispatchers, You think if I can land this successfully, Alaska will give me a job as a pilot? and the Air Traffic Control tower said, I think they will give you a job doing anything if you pull this off. He replied, according to some sites, Yeah right! [1][7][8][9] In response, two McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles of the Oregon Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter Wing under the command of NORAD[10] were scrambled at around 20:15 local time[11] from Portland Air National Guard Base to intercept it. The Port of Seattle released the video. Richard Russell was a suicidal airport ground services worker who stole an airplane from Sea-Tac . Hannah and Beebo met at a Campus Crusade for Christ gathering at Southwestern Oregon Community College last year, the site reported. (Video: Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post). I hope this prompts a nationwide discussion about mental healthcare overall. Our first date, he kind of cornered me into it, Hannah Russell said to the site. We were married one year later, and one month after that we opened a bakery which we successfully ran for 3 years, he explained on his website of his wife. This incredible true story is the inspiration for SkyKing, a video installation and project created in summer 2020. The family of a man who authorities say stole an airplane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday and died when he later crashed the aircraft said they were . Others reported that the man had supposedly buzzed Mt. He claimed to have buzzed Mount Rainier. The day of the incident, a thread on 4chan's /pol/[14] board about the incident gained over 470 posts. He gradually drifted into controlled airspace near Los Angeles International Airport, causing some alarm both to the authorities and to the pilots of at least two commercial jets. 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. I have flown from Sea-Tac many times, and know the landmarks Russell mentions well (Mt. The individual did use a pushback tractor to rotate the aircraft 180 degrees so he could then taxi the aircraft, Pohl said at the news conference Saturday. 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.. At another point, Richard Russell said, Im down to 2100; I started at like 30-something.. . [15] Near the end of the flight, the aircraft was seen performing a barrel roll over Puget Sound, recovering a mere ten feet (three meters) over the water. 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. Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing it in a nearby field where he was arrested. I dont need that much help; Ive played some video games before, he told the controllers trying to help him. 2007-2023 Literally Media Ltd. Glenn Sullivan, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the Virginia Military Institute and a clinical psychologist in private practice in Lexington, Virginia. 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.. I usually have to work outsidebut it allows me to do some pretty cool things too.. ?, One woman wrote on Twitter, he has stolen a big Horizon turbo prop. 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." [39] He attended Wasilla High School, where he wrestled and competed in track and field. Russells family released a statement to the news media expressing great shock and remembering Russell for his compassion. Maybe that will grease the gears a little bit with the higher-ups, he said at another point. After listening many times to the recordings, I found his voice - alternately warm, scared, and funny - to . [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. pic.twitter.com/ziBAYv7cgn, Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018. Stay tuned., Another indicated, Seatac airspace closed. He spoke of wanting to do "a couple maneuvers to see what it [the aircraft] can do", and requested the coordinates of an orca that had been brought to national attention, saying, "I want to go see that guy." 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.. Richard Russell, 29, hijacked a 76-seater plane from Seattle-Tacoma on Friday. The wife of an airline employee who hijacked a plane in Seattle had recorded their seven happy years of marriage on Instagram, calling him 'the man who keeps me laughing'.. Richard Russell has . . Failing to convince Hannah of Alaskas greatness, we settled on Sumner because of its close proximity to her family., Richard added, I, meanwhile, obtained a job working for Horizon Airlines (partnered with Alaska Airlines) so Im able to fly to Alaska at my leisure. 1:10. Russell, who was a ground service employee for Horizon Air and did not have a pilots license, took the twin-engine turboprop plane from a maintenance area where it was parked at the airport. Never really knew it, until now.". Footage of Russell performing the barrel roll was captured on video by Facebook[2] user John Waldron. [24] Delayed by the SteilacoomAnderson Island ferry, firefighters from West Pierce Fire and Rescue and other nearby departments arrived on the island about an hour and a half after the crash, where they then contended with the island's thick brush. 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. Who is the aircraft on Runway 1-6 center? an air traffic controller can be heard saying. Latest update from tower indicates no interest on his part to land the plane. Never really knew it, until now, Richard Russell said at one point. Rainier, the Olympic Mountains). Commercial aircraft are complex machines, he said. Powered by. Periodically, his voice cut into the dispatches. Then, about an hour after he took off, Russell plunged into sparsely populated Ketron Island 25 miles southwest of the airport, sparking an intense fire. The plane was grounded for the night after returning from Victoria, B.C., which was its final scheduled flight of the day. He was always smiling.. I dont know how he achieved the experience that he did.. 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. On social media, Richard Russell used the name Beebo Russell. (If you need help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.). What happened from then, left a. The story, despite seeming near-mythic, is true. 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.. I feel really bad for Richard and for his family. [20], On April 14, 2022, the FBI released 500 pages of previously classified documents related to the investigation. [5] It was not scheduled to fly again that day. RIP Rich. After attempting the aircraft took off, two F-15 fighter jets were deployed. Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing in a field where he was arrested. 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. 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 was 29 years old and a member of the ground crew at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, earning minimum wage. In 2018, a Horizon Air employee, Richard Russell, stole a plane with no prior flying experience, making international headlines. Its gonna be crazy, he said at one point in air traffic control transmissions. Compilation of footage of the aircraft being flown erratically in the vicinity of Seattle, and the pursuing F-15s, News report featuring surveillance footage, Man Steals a Passenger Plane and Crashes it Just After Takeoff (With Real Video), Washington State University Global Campus, "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Preliminary Report Accident Number: WPR18FA220", "Update on Investigation into Unauthorized Flight", "Alaska Air Horizon plane crashes after being stolen by airline employee", "How it unfolded: Full coverage of the Horizon Air crash and the man who stole the plane from Sea-Tac", "Stolen plane was chased by military jets before it crashed", "Crash: Horizon DH8D at Ketron Island on Aug 10th 2018, stolen aircraft crashed into forest", "Stolen plane closes Seattle-Tacoma airport before crashing", "Oregon F-15s Scramble To Seattle To Intercept Possibly Stolen Q400 Airliner (Updated)", "F-15Cs Intercept Stolen DASH-8 Airliner out of Seattle Tacoma Airport Before Crash", "LIVE: Plane stolen from Sea-Tac Airport crashes on small island; no passengers on board", "Pilot wanted to do aerobatics, apologized for his actions as he spoke with air traffic control", "NORAD F-15Cs intercept suicidal pilot in dramatic chase near Seattle", "Passenger Plane Stolen by Employee Crashes on Island Near Seattle Airport", "Seattle hijacker's plane heist, midair stunts and fiery crash expose gaps in aviation security", "Richard Russell, 'Rich': 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know", "Airline worker who stole plane told air traffic control 'I don't want to hurt no one', "SeaTac Hijacker Had the Skills to Take Out a Skyscraper Horizon Air ground handler Richard Russell knew how to fly without tearing the plane apartand enough fuel to be a flying bomb. He would have flipped overhead switches and set the propellers of the Bombardier Q400 spinning before he roared away from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. [4][13] A KC-135R Stratotanker refueling tanker was also scrambled from Fairchild Air Force Base to support the F-15 flight. Just kind of soaring around, he told air traffic control. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt. In the article, Russell described himself as laid back and easy going. He also had a pellet gun, with which he eventually shot several of the balloons, beginning his slow descent. [20] A veteran pilot said the maneuver "seemed pretty well executed, without either stalling or pulling the wings off. [6], The aircraft was stolen from Plane Cargo 1 at the north end of SeaTac Airport[6] and maneuvered to runway 16C via taxiways. They are grounding all planes and waiting. 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. 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. [18] He was active in his church and a leader in the local Christian youth ministry Young Life. In the audio clips, Russell calls himself "broken" and says he knows how to fly a little bit thanks to video games. [20], Videos and radio transmissions of the event were followed online, immediately sparking a meme dubbing Russell the "Sky King". pic.twitter.com/ziBAYv7cgn, Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018. Filed under I hope they can make it through this. He said that airline employees go through background checks. Although he didnt have a pilots license, Russell knew how to work the plane from his experience as an airport employee, the FBI previously said. Happening right now. [20], Russell's family released a statement on August 11, stating they were "stunned and heartbroken" and "devastated by the events". 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. A 2012 article in the World described how Russell met his wife. He left no children. We are working back ground on him now, the Pierce County Sheriff wrote. I wouldn't want to do that. [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. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. 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. 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. Updated Nov 30, 2022 at 4:37pm. People contended that he didnt want to die "he just wanted to feel alive for once in his life.. I hope they can make it through this. He said that airline employees go through background checks. The equipment was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for processing. Sea-Tac airport confirmed the plane was down a short time later. Tower, you need to call and scramble now, one pilot warned, according to the video. On LinkedIn, he wrote that he was owner/operator of Hannah Maries Bakery from 2012 through 2015 in North Bend, Oregon. We are aware of an incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. 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. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. 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. It may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but Beebo was a warm, compassionate man, the statement read. The chilling footage of his final moments next shows Russell jumping onto the plane and presumably getting into the cockpit. PostedSeptember 24, 2018 About to take off. ", Currently we have a 29yr old who stole this plane & is threatening to crash it into something. bit.ly/subAIRBOYD Various scanner recordings from liveatc.net and broadcastify.com SEA Ground, Tower, Departure/Approach. [36] He had been part of a tow team, which repositions aircraft on the airport apron, for about four years. #iflyalaska #akedchat.. Then he took an Alaska Airlines plane. On September 3rd, CNN reported that an airport worker named Cory Wayne Patterson had stolen a twin-engine plane from Tupelo Aviation and was threatening to crash it into a Mississippi Walmart. Together, they started a bakery in North Bend, Oregon. Keep the aircraft nice and low, the tower responded to the man at one point, advising him to keep it over the water. 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 [] Videos of the plane being followed by two F-15 fighter jets started going viral online as the story broke. Ah, Rich, dont say stuff like that, the controller said. Audio from the SeaTac tower reported that aircraft were lined up on the tarmac at one point. Audio captured emotional conversations between the man, named as Rich, and air traffic controllers trying to help him land safely. [5] Seattle Tower tried several times to get the pilot of the aircraft to identify himself on frequency, but received no response. Even the small sections, most of it doesnt resemble a plane.. "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. | Among the memes are images of Wojaks veering off into the sunset alongside quotes from Russell, a selfie of Russell sitting in the cockpit of the plane and video edits using audio clips from the conversation between Russell and the air traffic controller mixed with sad music and effects to emphasize the tragedy behind the event. The aircraft had been in maintenance status and was parked in an otherwise-vacant space for work on the plane's, New Footage Shows Moments Before Seattle Man Crashed Plane in 2018, A newly released video sheds new light on the moments leading up to Richard Russell crashing a plane. Russell cites his position at Horizon in his blog as well. No one else is thought to have been injured or killed, and the fighter jets did not fire on him, authorities said. Pilots kept plane out of harms way and people on ground safe. [39] He was an avid traveler and attended Washington State University Global Campus, majoring in social science. 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.. The footage shows him going through security wearing a T-shirt that says "the sky's no limit." Many saw Russell as a man suffering from depression and sympathized with him. Phone scammers tried to rob a grandma in Canada. It was a strange day when Horizon Airlines Employee Richard "Beebo" Russell stole a plane in the middle of his working shift.