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. "I think I'm going to try to do a barrel roll, and if that goes good I'll go nose down and call it a night," Richard Russell said from the cockpit, according to a recording of his conversation with the controller. Even with this new footage at hand, its hard to figure out what made Russell embark on this brazen, fatal adventure. He first can be seen wandering through security, and is spotted again later on the tarmac. 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. 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"Everyone was literally frozen in place, muttering about what possibly happened," he said. Worker who stole plane and crashed identified, See stolen plane flying moments before crash, Co-worker of man who stole plane speaks out, Official: Man taxied plane before stealing it, Airline worker's family releases statement, Airline issues statement after Seattle crash, Witness: Thought Air Force was practicing for show. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. ", The statement said Russell, 29, was "a faithful husband, a loving son and a good friend. Win Your Trip to Our 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards! 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. After the plane approached Ketron Island, Waldron saw a thick column of smoke followed by a loud explosion, he said. Weve got the Weekend Ticket Takeover! The plane didn't require a key, but it did require buttons and switches to be activated in a particular order. Having to rely on the ferry system for transport, the first 40 responding firefighters stayed at the scene throughout the night. 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. NTSB to investigate in-flight turbulence that left 1 passenger dead, Pittsburgh woman missing for 31 years found alive in Puerto Rico, stole an airplane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Investigators work to determine how a man was able to pilot a stolen plane. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. All rights reserved. His 75-minute flight during the golden twilight took him south and west, toward the Olympic Mountains. "I lift a lot of bags. 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. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The jets' capability was appropriate to the potential task, one of the sources said, without offering details. There were no passengers aboard. among other things. In the footage, Mr Russell can be seen calmly moving through the airport wearing a black shirt that says "The Sky's No Limit." Details of man who sources say stole airplane from Sea-Tac, Officials: Man who stole plane, died in crash not a pilot, Woman faces decades in prison after lying about murder, Do you have an investigative story tip? In the days leading up to the theft and subsequent crash, employees and family didn't notice anything wrong with him, investigators wrote in the updated report. The 76-seat Horizon Air turboprop plane took off without authorization at 7:32 p.m. local time Friday, with Russell, who was not a pilot, at the controls, officials said. . It did not elaborate. New surveillance. "He was getting really stressed about the financial situation he was in. He said flying was a "blast" and that he didn't need much help: "I've played some video games before.". After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighters were scrambled to intercept the aircraft. Its the first time that weve had a commercial aircraft stolen off the ramp of an active airport, Steven Armstrong, vice director of operations for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), told Rolling Stone. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Mr Russell's aerial joyride ultimately ended in a fiery crash on a remote island in Puget Sound. Join the Celebration of a Lifetime! Recently fired airline mechanic Armando Nieto Jaramillo, 23, stole a military HS-748 transport plane from Bogot-Eldorado Airport and crashed it soon after takeoff, killing himself and three people on the ground. 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. 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.
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.
. 7 months ago. "He worked his shift yesterday, we believe he was in uniform, his job is to be around airplanes," said Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Air Group, which owns Horizon Air. Video from Friday showed the Horizon Air Q400 doing large loops and other dangerous maneuvers as the sun set on the Puget Sound. The FBI will lead the investigation, said Eckrote, the NTSB regional chief. The whole saga took place late on a Friday night in the west-coast time zone; by Monday morning, the constant news churn of the middle years of the Trump presidency seemed to have pushed any follow-up coverage of the Horizon Air crash out of the headlines. The man has been identified as Richard Russell, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN on Saturday night. An FBI investigation found Alaska Airlines ramp employee Richard Russell intentionally crashed the aircraft after flying for more than an hour. A curious and ultimately tragic story from 2018 finally has a little more context, thanks to security camera footage. "I never thought I would work as a Ground Service Agent (GSA) for an Airlines company," he wrote in a blog post in September 2017. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. The black boxes are now being sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for processing. After Russell talked periodically with air traffic controllers for about an hour, the plane crashed at Ketron Island,officials said. Worlds Largest Passenger Aircraft Will Fly Again, Russia May Use Military Aircraft for Civilians, A Livestream of Planes Trying to Land at Heathrow, Why a New 5G Rollout Is Making Airlines Nervous, The Complicated History of the Very First Flight, The VTOL Future of Flight That Never Took Off. Russell is then seen walking into a restricted area meant for baggage handlers, getting onto a tarmac tow vehicle, and dragging the plane he was set to steal onto the runway. Alaska Airlines flight 261 took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on the morning of August 10, 2018. Airline officials believe he was in uniform and worked a shift Friday, Tilden said. Maybe that will grease some gears with the higher up, Russell said to air traffic controllers. "Although investigators received information regarding Russells background, possible stressors, and personal life, no element provided a clear motivation for Russells actions.". 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. "Oh man. An FBI investigation found Alaska Airlines ramp employee Richard Russell intentionally crashed the aircraft after flying for more than an hour. Enter for your chance to win a visit to the Disneyland Resort with 96.5 JACK FM! "But the air traffic controller had to tell him how to set what they call the 'bugs' -- they're just little, sort of, little levers, or little notches on your indicator for your heading, which is kind of basic. That's just not safe.". Richard Russell, 29, walks through employee security screening at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Air traffic control became suspicious of Mr Russell after he cut in the line for takeoff. I don't need that much help. I hope they can make it through this.". 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. The incident is bizarre and tragic, but it is not unprecedented. Richard Russell, 29, can be seen at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport driving a pushback tractor with an Alaska Air turboprop attached. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. First published on August 11, 2018 / 4:48 PM. The sheriff's department described Russell as suicidal. Russell echoed those claims in his last conversation with air traffic control. Like a lot of bags. Investigators on Saturday were trying to retrieve the plane's flight data recorder and its cockpit voice recorder. He flew until the plane ran out of fuel and died in the ensuing crash. In a final video project set to cheery music, Russell included selfies from airport . On the other hand, Russell was reported to have been profoundly troubled, whereas Malaysian authorities were unable to find any evidence that Shah suffered from mental illness or was undergoing any kind of stress in his life. Copyright 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. Ben Charles Padilla, an aircraft mechanic who held a private pilots license and was a certified flight engineer, was repairing a 727 airliner in Luanda, Angola for a Florida-based company named Aerospace Sales and Leasing. New video shows crash site of stolen plane. The Seattle FBI office said Sunday that it had recovered the flight data recorder and components of the cockpit voice recorder from the Horizon plane. Russell flew the plane for over an hour before crashing. Later, a controller discusses getting a pilot on the radio to help Russell control the aircraft. August 13, 2018 / 5:34 AM 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. strangest, scariest, most bizarre events of 2018. He's worked at Horizon longer than I did, and he still wasn't making $15 an hour, Reeves said. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. 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! F-15 fighter jets scrambled to intercept the Q400, which ultimately crashed into Ketron Island, about 30 miles from the airport. "Last night's event is going to push us to learn what we can from this tragedy so that we can ensure this does not happen again at Alaska Air Group or at any other airline," Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Airlines, told a news conference Saturday. "Yeah, he knew how to fly," she continued. Plus we let you know whats going on locally with Lee Callahans Jacktivities! 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. Russell's family said in a statement that they were stunned and heartbroken. They say says this is a complete shock. 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. 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. On his Facebook page, which had limited public access, he said he was from Wasilla, Alaska; lived in Sumner, Washington; and was married in 2012. 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. "I thought they were practicing for an air show," he said. Amazingly, despite the unprecedented nature of this deadly feat, and the fact that it could have easily become a mass casualty event, Russells flight and fatal crash seemed to hardly make a splash in the national news. Other pilots and SeaTac's tower exchange information about Mr Russell as they quickly realise that something unusual is going on. What was the richard russell plane crash story all about. I don't know, man! A Russian Air Force engineer made off with an Antonov An-26 transport plane from Kubinka Air Force Base near Moscow. It's gonna be crazy," Mr Russel said. Because there were no passengers or crew aboard the plane, it wasnt considered a hijacking, and authorities response to the event seems to indicate that nobody ever expected an airport employee to hop in a plane and go for a ride with no apparent intent to terrorize, kill, or even make a greater statement. What happened from then, left a. He eventually climbs inside the cockpit and fires up the engine. (DAILY NEWS VIDEO) . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. During an exchange with air traffic controllers, Russell mentioned he had some experience using flight simulator software. Its not yet known exactly what pre-existing psychological conditions Russell may have had, but in the course of his conversation with air traffic controllers he expresses racial resentment. 4.3M views 7 months ago A newly released video sheds new light on the moments leading up to Richard Russell crashing a plane. The Pierce County Medical Examiners Office has confirmed the remains belong to Richard Russell, who took the empty Horizon Air turboprop plane from Sea-Tac Airport. / CBS/AP. His family says it's clear he didn't mean to harm anyone. 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. Russell went by "Beebo" on social media. Author: Elisa Hahn Published: 11/14/2018 5:51:22 PM "He was a quiet guy," Rick Christenson, an operational supervisor with the airline who retired in Maytold The Seattle Times. Did you encounter any technical issues? "I lift a lot of bags. Music from Green Day, Michael Jackson, Queen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Fleetwood Mac, and more! 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. 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. Russell had no piloting experience, but he managed . Find flight for cheapWith its premium plus plan, youll be able to browse flight deals going for up to 90% off in business, premium economy, and economy class. He was in the air for about an hour. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Sunday that Russell had died in the fiery wreckage, but whether the crash was deliberate or accidental was one of several topics remaining for investigators.In Which Situation Would Accenture Apply Principles Of Responsible Ai?,
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