A pair of F-15C jets were scrambled in response to Russells flight before he crashed one hour and 15 minutes after takeoff. RIP Sky King, a user wrote. We consider ourselves bakery connoisseurs and have to try a new one every place we go. Although investigators received information regarding Russell's background, possible stressors, and personal life, no element provided a clear motivation for Russell's actions. His conversation and tone is very casual. Magazines, Digital Before he took off, several people at the airport questioned what was going on. Apparently someone stole a plane from SeaTac? It was a strange day when Horizon Airlines Employee Richard "Beebo" Russell stole a plane in the middle of his working shift. In 2018, a Horizon Air employee, Richard Russell, stole a plane with no prior flying experience, making international headlines. 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. Russell told controllers midflight that he played video games in preparation, but it was not clear whether he meant flight simulators some of which are commercially available and depict exhaustive and realistic measures to start an aircraft. Like a lot of bags. There is the runway just about a mile off your right side, do you see that? 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, where it was chased by fighter planes as he attempted stunts in the air before the plane crashed. Ive played some video games before.. How I've Made $280k Selling Spreadsheets on Etsy. Other video shows him clocking in to work. "[16][19] He added that he "wasn't really planning on landing it. Mona Lazar. bit.ly/subAIRBOYD Various scanner recordings from liveatc.net and broadcastify.com SEA Ground, Tower, Departure/Approach. Acted alone he is 29 year old Pierce county residence. 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. Hannah and Beebo met at a Campus Crusade for Christ gathering at Southwestern Oregon Community College last year, the site reported. I usually have to work outsidebut it allows me to do some pretty cool things too.. 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. Tulepo Police Chief John Quaka told CNN that Patterson had "some flight instruction" but was still in training. August 12, 2018 1:05 PM EDT. Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden said at a news conference Saturday that Russell worked for Horizon Air for four years and was on the clock and in uniform when he stole the twin-engine turboprop plane, which was parked in a cargo lot at the time. 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. In the coming days, articles about the incident were published in The New York Times,[4] CBS News[6] and The Washington Post. He doesnt sound confident in his ability to land back at SeaTac. 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. The cockpit recordings are widely available online and it would be hard not to feel compassion while listening to them. Powered by. Memes about Sky King spread across the internet after the incident. This article was published more than4 years ago. After attempting the aircraft took off, two F-15 fighter jets were deployed. In a final video that he posted to YouTube, Rich Russell showed an active life full of travel and adventure. 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 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. More recently, he listed his occupation as operations agent for Horizon Air at Sea-Tac since April 2018. He also posted audio clips of interviews he conducted to SoundCloud for what appears to have been a multimedia college class. Terrorism was ruled out, and Russell was found to have acted alone. 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 . I wouldn't want to do that. 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). All Rights Reserved. Human remains were recovered from the site, the FBI said Sunday, and Russell is presumed dead in the crash. 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. Seattle-Tacoma Intl. 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. We had a ground stop for quite a while here, a dispatcher says. Wish me luck! A fter 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 . On social media, Richard Russell quickly became something of a folk hero, but people also felt sadness and empathy for his pain and his plight. Many people online compared the incident to 2018's incident with Richard Russell, calling Patterson "Sky King 2.0" or "Sky King 2. These statements should probably be considered the emotional projections of similarly disaffected people. Plane is a Q4. I think I might mess something up there too. At one point in the dramatic audio, Richard Russell told the tower he was losing an engine. The mans bizarre and ultimately doomed flight pushed fighter planes into action. Phone scammers tried to rob a grandma in Canada. A 2012 article in the World described how Russell met his wife. He spun a plane around Friday evening without raising suspicion and climbed aboard with 76 empty seats behind him. A recording of their conversation . Unclear if passengers are on board. So many bags, he said. The plane was grounded for the night after returning from Victoria, B.C., which was its final scheduled flight of the day. An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. After taking off, an air traffic controller said, He needs some help controlling his aircraft. Russell responded: Nah, I mean, I dont need that much help. 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. Richard Russell, AKA Rich, the man who took the Sea-Tac plane and crashed it. The flight data recorder may show how well Russell managed the aircrafts myriad functions. This incredible true story is the inspiration for SkyKing, a video installation and project created in summer 2020. [20] A veteran pilot said the maneuver "seemed pretty well executed, without either stalling or pulling the wings off. 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. An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. A 2012 article in the World described how Russell met his wife. She foiled their plans. Below are some of the clips. The general feeling was, "It is a wonder that more of us don't crack from the tedium and meaninglessness of our consumer culture." Excerpts taken from Mr. Ballen 's video on the Sky king.Top 3 stories that sound fake but are 100% real | Part 5:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zaa53S-8lDMMr.Ballen's Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtPrkXdtCM5DACLufB9jbsAHIJACKED SEATTLE PLANE INSANE FOOTAGE, TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO, CRASH DAMAGE:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYVtVg6aGs Raw: Family Press Conference For Suicidal Mechanic Who Stole Plane In Seattle:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5fFJgdhBm4Stepbrother of Richard \"Beebo\" Russell talks about stolen plane incident:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FvRMhQ44kYMusicFrom Internet Archive, Public Domain MusicThe Pachelbel Canon: by Orchestre De Chambre Jean-Franois Paillardhttps://archive.org/details/lp_the-pachelbel-canon-and-other-baroque-favo_orchestre-de-chambre-jean-franois-paillard/disc1/01.02.+Canon+In+D+For+Strings+And+Continuo.mp3Pachelbel's Canon in D:https://archive.org/details/PachelbelsCanoninD Authorities described him as suicidal.. It is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. 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. Oh- theyve probably got anti-aircraftnot quite ready to bring it down just yet. The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, another said. Our first date, he kind of cornered me into it, Hannah Russell said to the site. 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. He said of himself that, Ive got a lot of people that care about me. [19] Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden announced on the same day that the airline was coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, and the National Transportation Safety Board, and was "working to find out everything we possibly can about what happened". This is a complete shock to us. The plane started moving, but Russell jumped in the plane and took off. Rainier. 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. Quite a scary experience. Its not clear whether Russell, 29, had ever really flown a plane before. It's Been Almost 8 Years Since The 'Sad Satan' Phenomenon, And People Still Aren't Sure What Happened, If You're Always In The Passenger Seat, You Might Be A 'Passenger Princess', Controversial Ontario High School Teacher Placed On Leave By School Board, The 'Whatever' 'Dating Talk' Podcast Keeps Going Viral For 'Triggering' Its Young Woman Guests, 4chan Turns Disgraced Cartoonist Scott Adams Into A Meme. The Pierce County Sheriff wrote on Twitter, Stolen horizon airplane crashed into Ketron island. Russell, a ground services worker for Horizon Air, was permitted to get very close to passenger aircraft. 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. In 1993, Lawnchair Larry Walters was named an At-Risk Survivor in the annual Darwin Awards. Russell had no formal training as a pilot and did not have his pilots license. Hearing Mr. Russell speak during his final hour is an emotional experience. The Sky King of Sea-Tac Airport. Rest in peace Rich. 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. Location of SeattleTacoma International Airport (north) and Ketron Island (south) within northwestern Washington state. 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.. USA TODAY. 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. | 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. I hope they can make it through this. He said that airline employees go through background checks. Posted Sep 24, 2018. pic.twitter.com/ziBAYv7cgn, Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018. sky king, sky king memes, richard russell, 4chan, sky king 2, based. Buy "Richard "SkyKing" Russell" by BogTron as a Sticker. I met Hannah in Coos Bay, Oregon in 2010 while we were both going to school, the about me section says. Beck said the aerial maneuvers were "incredible" and that he "did not know how [Russell] achieved the experience that he did. He claimed to have buzzed Mount Rainier. 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 . 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. Polices ,ambulances ,& fire trucks are everywhere. It seemed like he was well liked by the other workers. [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". Its burned quite a bit faster than I expected., He also said, Im gonna land it, in a safe kind of manner. I met Hannah in Coos Bay, Oregon in 2010 while we were both going to school, the about me section says. Happy birthday to the man who keeps me laughing and always improves the view ? she wrote with one in 2017. Well chalk it up to that. Richard Russell had a website that appeared to have been for a college communications class. After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighters were scrambled to intercept the aircraft. He left no children. After he landed, Mr. Walters was arrested and charged with unlawful operation of an aircraft within a controlled air traffic area. 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. [39] He was an avid traveler and attended Washington State University Global Campus, majoring in social science. Speculation has swirled over Russells intent. Cast Your Vote To Select The Meme Of The Month! I feel really bad for Richard and for his family. It was worth it, he said, to conveniently travel to Alaska, where he grew up, to visit family. "Guides" I got a lot of people that care about me. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. The Port of Seattle released the video. Hey, I found myself in a predicament. 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. In a video he posted for a college class in December, Russell joked about the sometimes mundane duties of his job. Others saw his opinions on certain topics as based. Periodically, his voice cut into the dispatches. "Got a few screws loose, I guess. [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. We believe there are no passengers on board. [4][13] A KC-135R Stratotanker refueling tanker was also scrambled from Fairchild Air Force Base to support the F-15 flight. He and his wife had owned a bakery in Oregon but sold it to move closer to her family. Sadly, he did not survive much longer at all. [37], Horizon Air CEO Gary Beck stated that, as far as the company knew, Russell did not have a pilot's license. As Melville noted, We are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending., Be wary of simple explanations of any human behavior, and of simple solutions for complex problems. 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. The footage shows him going through security wearing a T-shirt that says "the sky's no limit." Richard Russell Steals a Horizon Air Q400 (Exclusive New Footage), On August 10, 2018, a Horizon ground operations employee by the name of Richard Bryan Russell Jr., stole a $32,000,000 Horizon Q400 airplane, N449QX, from the Cargo 1 / Line 1 area at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Luke Adams ? Someone plucked a bag off a conveyor belt. #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. Even the small sections, most of it doesnt resemble a plane.. Or he could have had grim plans to take his own life. Richard Russell, 29, hijacked a 76-seater plane from Seattle-Tacoma on Friday. But that flight was his last. On Instagram, Hannah Russell posted recent photos with Rich. Rich, you said you had 2100 pounds of fuel left? the controller responded. 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. Someone sneak on board?, A man named Tyler Lucas wrote, Sitting on the runway at SeaTac, preparing for departure. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Who's Afraid of the Rorschach Inkblot Test?