Chilling CCTV footage shows Richard Russell stealing plane - HITC 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. Like a lot of bags. Photos show first responders that night sleeping outside on the ground. "There is a runway just off to your right side in about a mile," the controller says, reffering to an airfield at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Win Tickets to KISS at Climate Pledge Arena on November 6, 2023. 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. The Port of Seattle just released the CCTV footage of 29-year-old Richard Russell towing the Alaska Airlines' Q400 Turboprop into position back in 2018 at the Seattle-Tacoma International. . Please enter valid email address to continue. He had no purpose to be at that plane Friday evening "other than what he did do," Tilden said. Mr Russell's aerial joyride ultimately ended in a fiery crash on a remote island in Puget Sound. Man who took Horizon Air plane from Sea-Tac Airport was quiet, well Siddiq Saunderson Moved to L.A. and Immediately Bought a Prius, Millennials and Zillennials Can't Get Enough of Manual Transmissions, Dollar Flight Club Premium Plus (Lifetime Subscription), Tesla Investor Day 2023 Was Pretty Great if You Ignored Elon. Richard Russell, 29, walks through employee security screening at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Copyright 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. Four years ago, a 29-year-old man named Richard Russell managed to steal an Alaskan Airlines turboprop plane from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. FBI recovers flight recorder, Richard Russell's remains from stolen 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. The King County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. What happened from then, left a. Russell was recorded having multiple conversations with air traffic controllers who were trying to talk him into landing. July 4, 1986. All rights reserved. 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 "A couple of the turns, it looked like what we call in basic flight training a 'coordinated turn,' meaning that he not only used the yoke but you also coordinate with the rudders and you do the turns. But the plane made turns and aerobatic maneuvers that suggest some skill, she said. .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}A 777 Nearly Plunged Into the Ocean After Takeoff, Sudden FAA Failure Grounds U.S. CNN's Kyung Lah reports. "Everyone was literally frozen in place, muttering about what possibly happened," he said. F-15 "pilots kept plane out of harms way and people on ground safe," the sheriff's office tweeted. Family and friends try to reconcile Richard Russell's action with the "Russell was known as a quiet guy who read a lot," according to one witness statement. He later stole the plane and eventually crashed it into an island in Puget Sound. Padilla and an a recently hired assistant boarded the plane, taxied it to the runway, took off, and head out over the Atlantic Ocean. Video from Friday showed the Horizon Air Q400 doing large loops and other dangerous maneuvers as the sun set on the Puget Sound. It wasn't immediately clear what training, if any, Russell had in flying planes. Even with this new footage at hand, its hard to figure out what made Russell embark on this brazen, fatal adventure. Richard Russell said he didn't need much help: 'I've played some video 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident - Wikipedia Richard Russell: Man who stole SeaTac plane was warm and compassionate Domestic Flights, Airplane Door Rips Open Midflight on Russian Plane, Airport Worker Ingested Into Jet Engine, Dies, The Concorde Disaster, Battle Tanks, and More. 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. Other pilots and SeaTac's tower exchange information about Mr Russell as they quickly realise that something unusual is going on. Russell went by "Beebo" on social media. The rest of Mr Russell's time in the air was well documented, thanks to his regular contact with SeaTac's tower. It did not elaborate. The man could be heard on audio recordings telling air traffic controllers that he is "just a broken guy." He was immediately killed. It's Troublingly Common for Ground Crew Members To Steal Planes Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. The perpetrator, 29-year-old Richard Russell, was a Horizon Air ground service agent with no piloting experience. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, On the day of his tragic flight, Mr Russell wore a shirt that said The Sky is No Limit, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Air Traffic Control audio reveals conversation with man who stole Alaska Airlines plane. I mean, I would hope it is, for a guy like me. Nearby co-workers weren't even aware of Russell's actions, which happened six hours into his shift, according to reporters. Russell took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 7.32pm on Friday and flew, tailed by F-15 Eagle jets, until the plane crashed at 8.47pm into Ketron Island, located 25 miles. Russell, 29 is presumed dead. strangest, scariest, most bizarre events of 2018. It evens out in the end.". New video shows fiery scene of stolen plane crash on Ketron Island He first can be seen wandering through security, and is spotted again later on the tarmac. 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. Indeed, in transcripts of his conversation with air-traffic control as he zig-zags the stolen plane through the airspace above the 15th-largest city in the U.S. (some of which can be heard in the video above), Russells demeanor goes from awestruck, to giddy, to fearful, to guilty, as he seems to process in real-time the weight of what hes done, and the unlikelihood that hell survive. "I thought they were practicing for an air show," he said. On Friday, Horizon Air ground service agent .css-3wjtm9{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#1c6a65;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-3wjtm9:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Richard B. Russell got in one of the airlines Bombardier Q400 aircraft and took off from Seattles SeaTac Airport. The theft illustrated what aviation experts have long known: One of the biggest potential perils for commercial air travel is airline or airport employees causing mayhem. "My husband and I are recently former Boeing employees, and we were wondering why a jet was near the passenger airplane," she said. Richard Russell, who stole plane from Sea-Tac, acted alone, crashed on ", First published on August 13, 2018 / 5:34 AM. Could 3 Particles on a Tie Lead Us to D.B. New footage released by the Port of Seattle shows Mr Russell who worked as a baggage handler at the airport preparing the plane for takeoff. July 13, 1994. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much The plane was a Q400, a Bombardier turboprop plane, one of about 40 the airline has in its fleet. F-15s were scrambled out of their base at Portland International Airport to intercept the plane. Richard Russell Plane Crash Video Explained It seemed like such miserable work and I never could imagine why anyone would want to subject themselves to all the constant noise, gas fumes, and heavy lifting. Im coming home! But it was not to be. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. 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. Family of man who stole, crashed plane 'stunned' - KJRH At one point he asks the controller, Hey, do you think if I land this successfully, Alaska [Horizon Airs parent company, Alaska Airllines] will give me a job as a pilot? Told, You know, I think they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off, Russell replies, Yeah right! As a flight controller tried to persuade him to land, he wondered aloud about whether he had enough fuel to make it to the Olympics, talked of the beautiful view, and said he had a lot of people who cared about him, apologizing for what he was doing. The Q400 is a turboprop aircraft with 76 seats. The footage shows him going through security wearing a T-shirt. Richard Russell, 'Rich': 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know All Rights Reserved. "In this plane, he certainly knew how to retract the landing gear, he coordinated both engines, powered them up to get a coordinated takeoff," she said. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed the remains belong to Richard Russell, who took the empty Horizon Air turboprop plane from Sea-Tac Airport. Others include how, nearly 17 years after the 9/11 attack, someone can simply take a passenger plane from a major U.S. airport without authorization. Airline officials believe he was in uniform and worked a shift Friday, Tilden said. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? In a statement, the family says Richard Russell, whose nickname was "Beebo," was warm, kind and gentle. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. What followed was a 73-minute joyride during which Richard Beebo Russell had a surprisingly candid conversation with air-traffic controllers as he pushed the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 twin-engine plane through some daring acrobatic moves. The incident is bizarre and tragic, but it is not unprecedented. U.S. Air Force Sergeant Paul Meyer, a 23-year-old crew chief stationed at Mildenhall Air Base in England, stole a C-130 cargo plane and took off. At one point, he apologizes and says he is a "broken guy" with "a few screws loose. Witnesses described the surreal scene after the plane left the airport. As the FBI investigation wrapped up earlier this week, West Pierce Fire and Rescue released some of the first footage from the scene through public disclosure. They said it's clear Russell didn't intend to harm anyone, and "he was right in saying that there are so many people who loved him. and last updated 2018-08-12 08:56:01-04. Richard "Beebo" Russell, the Horizon Air employee who stole a plane from Sea-Tac Airport on Friday night, performed midair acrobatics over Puget Sound and then crashed into an island, was an. F-15 fighter jets scrambled to intercept the Q400, which ultimately crashed into Ketron Island, about 30 miles from the airport. The FBI will lead the investigation, said Eckrote, the NTSB regional chief. New video shows the crash site and blogging made by Richard Russell, the airline worker who stole and crashed a plane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. New video shows crash site of stolen plane 02:22 CNN Richard Russell was a funny, gentle and hardworking man, said family and a colleague of the airline employee who stole a passenger. "This is a complete shock to us," the family said in a statement Saturday night. First published on August 11, 2018 / 4:48 PM. Richard Russell, 29, can be seen at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport driving a pushback tractor with an Alaska Air turboprop attached. It's unclear exactly what Mr Russell is doing during this time, but he eventually takes control of a pushback tug and readies the Alaska Air plane for 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. Richard Russell: 'Heartbroken' family of Seattle airline employee - CNN "It's going to disappoint them to hear that I did thisJust a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess.". CCTV Footage Shows Baggage Handler Stealing Plane, Crashes On Island - TMZ Videos Show Richard Russell's Final Moments Before Shocking Plane Crash Who Was Richard Russell? Man Steals Airplane and Crashes | Time 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. 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. NBC News Digital features NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Dateline, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. He passed a series of background checks to gain his position, as he didn't have any criminal convictions. With its premium plus plan, youll be able to browse flight deals going for up to 90% off in business, premium economy, and economy class. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. the moments leading up to an airport worker crashing a stolen airplane, FBI released more information about Russell and the incident, employees and family didn't notice anything wrong, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. New Video Shows Man Stealing Horizon Air Plane In 2018 Incident "Although investigators received information regarding Russells background, possible stressors, and personal life, no element provided a clear motivation for Russells actions.". The sheriff's department described Russell as suicidal. among other things. "Never really knew it till now," he said. Minimum wage, we'll chalk it up to that. Air traffic control became suspicious of Mr Russell after he cut in the line for takeoff.

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.

. A 777 Nearly Plunged Into the Ocean After Takeoff, In audio recordings released over the internet, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. That's just not safe.". Ah, dammit. New Video Shows When Richard Russell Stole a Plane at Sea-Tac - Jalopnik He flew until the plane ran out of fuel and died in the ensuing crash. They said it's not clear whether he had ever taken flight lessons or used flight simulators, or where he gained the skills to take off.

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