Sep 09, 2022 at 02:47PM EDT You can listen to all of his SoundCloud clips here. He was a quiet and well-liked young man who was active in his church. Yay air force . They deemed Russell the Sky King inspiring an outpouring of memes in his memorial and a possible . 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." Sea-Tac airport confirmed the plane was down a short time later. RIP Rich. Stay tuned., Richard Russell, Rich: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Oh- theyve probably got anti-aircraftnot quite ready to bring it down just yet. Public acts of violence such as mass shootings often reflect the perpetrators troubled, dark past. Now video was released. This story has been shared 110,450 times. I dont want to hurt no one. sky king, sky king memes, richard russell, 4chan, sky king 2, based. Glenn Sullivan, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the Virginia Military Institute and a clinical psychologist in private practice in Lexington, Virginia. Ive played some video games before.. And part of his job was to drive the tractor that backed the aircraft into position for takeoff. The general feeling was, "It is a wonder that more of us don't crack from the tedium and meaninglessness of our consumer culture." 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. I lift a lot of bags. Disclaimer: I am in no way proficient in the arts.. The audio between the man known as Rich and air traffic controllers further captured his demeanor. I think I might mess something up there too. So many bags, he said. Hey all! He carried with him a CB radio, sandwiches, beer, and a camera. quote: On August 10, 2018, a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) in Seattle, Washington. The plane was grounded for the night after returning from Victoria, B.C., which was its final scheduled flight of the day. Hey all! He had psychotic depression. On Facebook, he had liked the Republican Party and conservative personalities like Sean Hannity and Ben Shapiro. 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. After performing the stunt, along with other maneuvers, the plane crashed on Ketron Island in the Puget Sound. How I've Made $280k Selling Spreadsheets on Etsy. Footage of Russell performing the barrel roll was captured on video by Facebook[2] user John Waldron. #seatac pic.twitter.com/OVtJqphgqo. 7 Ticking Time Bombs That Destroy Loving Relationships, The Single Best (and Hardest) Thing to Give Up, 3 Ways to Reclaim Your Hope and Happiness. 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. Phone scammers tried to rob a grandma in Canada. On YouTube, he also went by the name Beebo Russell. 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. 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 waitress, according to her social media account. I got a lot of people that care about me. Lee Goldberg. Then he took an Alaska Airlines plane. He grins in selfies at work. I was born in Key West, Florida, and moved to Wasilla, Alaska when I was 7. At one point in the dramatic audio, Richard Russell told the tower he was losing an engine. After listening many times to the recordings, I found his voice - alternately warm, scared, and funny - to . No one else is thought to have been injured or killed, and the fighter jets did not fire on him, authorities said. The Pierce County Sheriff wrote on Twitter, Stolen horizon airplane crashed into Ketron island. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. But there appears to be no manifesto, no digital trail of warning signs from Russell. . Hello, Love. He spun a plane around Friday evening without raising suspicion and climbed aboard with 76 empty seats behind him. The episode has also suggested that Russell was more complicated than the easygoing persona of his known online footprint. SKY KING 2: RETURN OF THE SKY KING https://t.co/2Uk1sA2oXQ. I have flown from Sea-Tac many times, and know the landmarks Russell mentions well (Mt. The equipment was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for processing. First, it would provide a simple explanation that makes the incomprehensible seem comprehensible. His conversation with controllers revealed limited experience. Our first date, he kind of cornered me into it, Hannah Russell said to the site. Authorities said Russell was suicidal. The Sky King of Sea-Tac Airport. Richard Russell: Details emerge of a compassionate man after Seattle plane heist and fiery crash. [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. 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 another point, Richard Russell said, Im down to 2100; I started at like 30-something.. They turned him into a hero with the name, and with it came a lot of memes. Keep the aircraft nice and low, the tower responded to the man at one point, advising him to keep it over the water. At one point, Rich asked for help in getting the cabin depressurized, complaining he was getting lightheaded. 1,012 words / 5:32 To listen in a player, click here. They deemed Russell the Sky King inspiring an outpouring of memes in his memorial and a possible copycat this September. Stay tuned., Another indicated, Seatac airspace closed. I'm listening through the archive of the radio chatter on the #seatac hijacking. 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 new footage appears to show Russell wearing a shirt that reads "The Sky's No Limit . We believe there are no passengers on board. The plane crashed through several lines of 100-foot trees, the National Transportation Safety Board said, according to CNN. Who Is The 'Sky King' Richard Russell And How Did He Earn His Title? 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. Other video shows him clocking in to work. 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 . Hearing Mr. Russell speak during his final hour is an emotional experience. Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. 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. However, late in the evening of August 10, 2018, tower audio indicated that some planes were being released. It was a lie. 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. "What can you expect," some said, "when you take people whose great-great-grandparents were pioneers, grizzly bear hunters, and city-builders and make them baggage handlers, call center operators, and sales clerks?" 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. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed. [45] The aircraft was worth $30million, all of which was paid under the company's insurance policy "with no deductibles. This article was published more than4 years ago. He is flying around the airport, he does not know how to land it. 160. r/lostgeneration. 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.). Just kind of soaring around, he told air traffic control. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Normal operations at Sea-Tac Airport have resumed, the airport wrote. Before he took off, several people at the airport questioned what was going on. Tulepo Police Chief John Quaka told CNN that Patterson had "some flight instruction" but was still in training. After attempting the aircraft took off, two F-15 fighter jets were deployed. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital 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. Maybe that will grease some gears a little bit with the higher-ups. Buy "Richard "SkyKing" Russell" by BogTron as a Sticker. Confirmed info .. this is a single suicide male. [37] From early childhood he was known as "Beebo" to his friends and family. Hannah and Beebo met at a Campus Crusade for Christ gathering at Southwestern Oregon Community College last year, the site reported. On LinkedIn, he wrote that he was owner/operator of Hannah Maries Bakery from 2012 through 2015 in North Bend, Oregon. Now, in new footage of the moments before he took off, the 29-year-old can be seen walking through airport security with a The Skys No Limit T-shirt. As of 2019[update], this clean up effort was still ongoing, with pieces of aircraft wreckage still being located on the island after the first anniversary of the incident. Thanks for contacting us. Beebos intent was not to harm anyone, and he was right in saying that there are so many people who loved him, Mathews said. Here's the full story. A 2012 article in the World described how Russell met his wife. Both were armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles[12] and went supersonic, generating sonic booms on the way to the Puget Sound area. The incident spawned numerous image macros, photoshops and fan arts on 4chan and other online communities. The footage shows him going through security wearing a T-shirt that says "the sky's no limit." Magazines, stole a plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Or create a free account to access more articles, 'Beebo Was Loved By Everyone.' [25][26] No injuries were reported to residents of the sparsely populated island despite the crash site being in close proximity to at least one cabin, which was occupied at the time of the incident. Many saw Russell as a man suffering from depression and sympathized with him. Beck said the aerial maneuvers were "incredible" and that he "did not know how [Russell] achieved the experience that he did. Russell, the sole occupant of the aircraft, perished in the crash. On August 11th, 2018, a post about the plane crash was submitted to 4chan's /pol/ board,[1] where an anonymous user replied "Sky King?" I wouldn't want to do that. Updated Nov 30, 2022 at 4:37pm. Never really knew it, until now., While Lawnchair Larry was mostly a figure of fun in our popular culture, many people responded to Rich Russells flight with a level of compassion unfamiliar in our social media age. 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. Richard Russell Plane Crash Video From Seattle, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. #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. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. 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.. About to take off. Someone plucked a bag off a conveyor belt. This is "Sky King ~ Richard Russell" by Nibbus Jimmus on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. 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. ", "Plane Thief Said He Trained on Games, Didn't Plan to Land", "NORAD: Fighter jets were trying to direct stolen plane over Pacific Ocean when it crashed", "Towboat crew dropped everything to respond to Ketron Island crash", "Firefighters battle more than flames after Ketron Island plane crash", "Seattle plane crash: 'heartbroken' family remember gentle man who meant no harm", "Ketron Island residents grateful Horizon Air plane didn't crash into homes", "Thanks to everyone for sharing accurate information, insuring the public's safety. Periodically, his voice cut into the dispatches. Even the small sections, most of it doesnt resemble a plane.. [27], The Pierce County Sheriff's Office both thanked the public for its accurate information, and acknowledged on August 11 that federal agencies would be leading the investigation, primarily the Seattle office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Russell was active in his local community, serving as a leader at Young Life, a Christian youth ministry. "[20], Rolling Stone magazine investigated the incident and reported in 2021 that some of Russell's friends and family believe he may have suffered brain injuries during his football years in high school and college. This incredible true story is the inspiration for SkyKing, a video installation and project created in summer 2020. He was manic-depressive. Yeah I dont know what the burnageis like on a takeoff but yeah. He preciously worked as a ground service agent at Horizon from 2015 to present. ?, One woman wrote on Twitter, he has stolen a big Horizon turbo prop. He had planned to seek a management position at Horizon Air or become a military officer after receiving his degree. People expressed an emotional connection with him through postings on social media, T-shirts, and tribute songs. 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. After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle . [20], On April 14, 2022, the FBI released 500 pages of previously classified documents related to the investigation. Videos of the plane being followed by two F-15 fighter jets started going viral online as the story broke. Yeah I dont know what the burnageis like on a takeoff but yeah. Horizon Q4 prop hijacked by unauthorized person not a pilot. 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. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. Others said it was wrong to glorify him for an act that could have killed more people. We are aware of an incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. On Facebook, his favorite quotes were religious in nature, including, God IS Love and No Guilt in Life, No Fear in Death, this is the Power of Christ in Me, and a non religious line, This is America.. Everything is shutdown rn pic.twitter.com/AzebdIa3tP, City King (@CityKing_Gank_) September 3, 2022. Magazines, Digital Russells family released a statement to the news media expressing great shock and remembering Russell for his compassion. In 1993, Lawnchair Larry Walters was named an At-Risk Survivor in the annual Darwin Awards. Someone sneak on board?, A man named Tyler Lucas wrote, Sitting on the runway at SeaTac, preparing for departure. i cut the audio from a frequency hopper that caught some of what they said to each other. He did a barrel roll in a stolen plane and went out in a blaze of glory. Russell was well-liked by his co-workers, according to The Seattle Times. Russells social media accounts have become funeral guestbooks, digitized for the world. 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. The cockpit recordings are widely available online and it would be hard not to feel compassion while listening to them. 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. On August 10, 2018, a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) in Seattle, Washington. 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. 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). There is the runway just about a mile off your right side, do you see that? My names Richard Russell, Im 27 and currently living in Sumner, WA with my incredible wife Hannah. 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. 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. 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. Ive got a lot of people that care about me. Russell cites his position at Horizon in his blog as well. 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." An airline employee conducted an unauthorized takeoff without passengers at Sea-Tac; aircraft has crashed in south Puget Sound. Well chalk it up to that. Apparently someone stole a Horizon Q and is flying it over SeaTac. Sea-Tac Airport (@SeaTacAirport) August 11, 2018. Residents of the island bore some of the cost for cleaning up, and negotiations were initiated for their reimbursement by Alaska Airlines' insurers. Ah, minimum wage. Together, they started a bakery in North Bend, Oregon. (Video: Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post). [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. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process, 6 Signs That Youre Depressed and Ignoring It. [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. He and his wife had owned a bakery in Oregon but sold it to move closer to her family. 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. Im going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. "Got a few screws loose, I guess. Hearing a diagnosis would comfort them somehow. In one blog, he describedaspirations to land a management job or join the military. [40] He was a hard-hitting football fullback in high school, scoring six touchdowns in his senior year, after which he moved to North Dakota to join the football team at Valley City State University. 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.. He had broken up with his girlfriend of 15 years and was having trouble finding steady work. No one else is thought to have been injured or killed, and the fighter jets did not fire . Richard Russell had a website that appears to have been for a college communications class. [15] He said he was a "broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. On Instagram, Hannah Russell posted recent photos with Rich. On August 10th, 2018, a service agent for Horizon Air named Richard "Beebo" Russell used his position to steal a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 airliner from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Powered by. Quite a scary experience. The crisis has engulfed the West as a whole. He sounds like a broken man who needed help. This dives into the psychology and reason of why he Hi-jacked a plane and then crashed into his death. The couple settled in Sumner, Wa., where Russell got a job at Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, so he could easily fly back to Alaska to see his own family. I met my husband when a friend sent him over to my house to cure my hiccoughs. [5] A nearby Alaska Airlines jet on the ground reported that the aircraft began a takeoff roll with its wheels smoking,[5] and an unauthorized take-off was made at 19:32 local time (02:32 UTC, August 11). We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. "[34], Richard Russell was a Horizon Air ground service agent from Sumner, Washington. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. I don't want to. It seemed like he was well liked by the other workers. 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 [] PostedSeptember 24, 2018 0:00. Who's Afraid of the Rorschach Inkblot Test? 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. pic.twitter.com/ziBAYv7cgn, Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018. We are aware of an incident involving an unauthorized take-off of a Horizon Air Q400. [12] Flights in and out of SeaTac Airport were temporarily suspended. Ah, Rich, dont say stuff like that, the controller said. This dives into the psychology and reason of why he Hi-jacked a plane and . 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. He would have flipped overhead switches and set the propellers of the Bombardier Q400 spinning before he roared away from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. 1:10. pic.twitter.com/Ra4LcIhwfU. The story, despite seeming near-mythic, is true. Subscribe to NBC News: nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC Watch more NBC video: bit.ly/MoreNBCNews NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news. He flew around as an air traffic controller calmly tried to reason with him. 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. I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it, you know? "[18] Hours prior, he posted a message on Facebook that seemed to imply he was going to commit suicide, writing, "Sorry everyone. 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. Wikipedia. [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. He would take my shifts if I needed. So I dont know how he achieved the experience that he did.. Human remains were recovered from the site, the FBI said Sunday, and Russell is presumed dead in the crash. Mona Lazar. pic.twitter.com/ziBAYv7cgn, Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) August 11, 2018. A Port of Seattle official, Mike Pohl, said that Russell used an airport tractor to pull the parked plane onto a runway, which he would have known how to do, as part of his job in ground service was towing airplanes. I love my parents and sister this isn't your fault. 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. 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). More information as we learn more, Alaska Airlines wrote on Twitter around 9:20 p.m. on the west coast. Mourners gathered in the comments section of his YouTube video. (@luketadams) August 11, 2018. "[43] Some co-workers said that Russell had probably trained himself to fly using amateur flight simulation software. "[21] When an air traffic controller requested he land the plane after this maneuver, he said "I don't know. 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 worked as an assistant pastry chef and waitress, according to her social media account. I dont know how he achieved the experience that he did.. This is not a terrorist incident. (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.