Alaska Airlines flight 261 took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on the morning of August 10, 2018. 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. Plus we let you know whats going on locally with Lee Callahans Jacktivities! Like a lot of bags. Now let's land that airplane safely and don't hurt anybody on the ground," the helping pilot radios. The plane was a Bombardier Q400, a turboprop that seats 76 people, owned by Horizon Air, part of Alaska Airlines. Did you encounter any technical issues? 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. Nearby co-workers weren't even aware of Russell's actions, which happened six hours into his shift, according to reporters. Please dont hesitate to utilize this resource. Richard "Beebo" Russell (Screenshot from YouTube via AP) SEATTLE - The Horizon Air baggage handler who stole a commercial airplane from Sea-Tac Airport and took it for a 73-minute joy ride . 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. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.. The body camera and cell phone video shows firefighters climbing through dense brush and fallen trees to get to the crash site on Ketron Island. Newly released CCTV footage shows airport employee Richard Russell stealing an Alaska Airlines plane before fatally crashing it into a Washington island, the New York Post reports. I don't need that much help. Russell had no piloting experience, but he managed . ", Referring to audio recordings of Russell talking to air traffic control during his hour-long flight, the statement said his "intent was not to harm anyone. What happened from then, left a. ", "I've got a lot of people that care about me," the man later said. "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 Associated Press contributed to this report. Padilla and an a recently hired assistant boarded the plane, taxied it to the runway, took off, and head out over the Atlantic Ocean. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. A Russian Air Force engineer made off with an Antonov An-26 transport plane from Kubinka Air Force Base near Moscow. "I always felt bad for the guys and gals who handled luggage. Later, a controller discusses getting a pilot on the radio to help Russell control the aircraft. "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. He was immediately killed. among other things. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. New video shows fiery scene of stolen plane crash on Ketron Island This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "We are devastated by these events, and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. Richard Russell: 'Heartbroken' family of Seattle airline employee - CNN 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. According to his Facebook page, which had limited public access, he was from Wasilla, Alaska, and lived in Sumner, Washington, and was married in 2012. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Newly released video shows the fiery scene firefighters encountered after an airplane stolen from Sea-Tac Airport crashed on Ketron Island. Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com, Multiple western Washington residents indicted in connection to coast-to-coast drug ring, Bank accidentally left unlocked in Fresno, police say, Powerball jackpot winner identified as longtime Boeing employee, Officials: Mother identified as shooter in murder-suicide in Ohio, Court finds Federal Way gun store in contempt of court. FBI releases classified documents from 2018 Horizon Air plane theft, crash 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. New video shows crash site of stolen plane. The agency said that, had Mr Russell wanted, he could have recovered from the dive. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. 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. August 22, 1979. "Seattle Ground, Horizon Guy. He said flying was a "blast" and that he didn't need much help: "I've played some video games before.". For one, Russell shouldn't have been able to board the plane alone, he said. ", Russell posted collages of photos from his trips around the world, writing that travel was "what keeps me going in the most unfavorable circumstances.". In a humorous YouTube video he posted last year, he talked about his job and included videos and photos of his travels. 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. Russell, 29 is presumed dead. Each Thursday Ticket Takeover we giveaway prizes all day for different concerts, events, and more! Russell took the Q400 from a cargo area at the north end of Sea-Tac Airport on August 10. The NTSB is now processing the equipment. "I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Richard Russell Plane Crash Video From Seattle | Heavy.com No one noticed the plane had disappeared until Mr Russell was in the air. "So, (he) had some knowledge but clearly wasn't a commercial pilot.". I don't want to. 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 Winter Weather Advisory expires for much of western Washington, Intertribal comedy sketch troupe performs 'Between Two Knees' at Seattle Rep, plane stolen from Sea-Tac Airport crashed, Stolen plane narrowly missed family inside Ketron Island cabin, released the findings of its investigation, Cockpit audio from worker who stole empty plane from Sea-Tac Airport, 'I was blown away': Stepbrother of man who stole plane speaks out. The man has been identified as Richard Russell, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN on Saturday night. 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. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. By Jeff Wise Published: Aug 13, 2018 JASON REDMOND // Getty Images 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. 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. In fact, there have been a number of occurrences in recent decades in which ground personnel made off with aircraft. Copyright 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report. It's Troublingly Common for Ground Crew Members To Steal Planes 4.3M views 7 months ago A newly released video sheds new light on the moments leading up to Richard Russell crashing a plane. Music from Green Day, Michael Jackson, Queen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Fleetwood Mac, and more! The jets' capability was appropriate to the potential task, one of the sources said, without offering details. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known, but the F-15s did not bring the plane down, Eckrote said. FBI released more information about Russell and the incident earlier this year, including witness statements from family, friends, and co-workers. Neither the men nor the plane has ever been seen again. 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! 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. 2. The FBI also said it found human remains among the wreckage. 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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. July 4, 1986. So many bags," he said. Russell went by "Beebo" on social media. New footage shows airport worker Richard Russell steal plane There were no passengers aboard. July 13, 1994. . "Most importantly," he said in a voiceover about his job, "I get to visit those I love most. Russell repeatedly says he would do a roll. How was a man able to steal and pilot a plane? His responsibilities included towing and pushing aircraft for takeoff and gate approach, de-icing them, and handling baggage. Richard Russell, pilot of stolen Horizon Air plane, had lighthearted In a final video project set to cheery music, Russell included selfies from airport . 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 Sound, questions remain. "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. The plane didn't require a key, but it did require buttons and switches to be activated in a particular order. The plane was a Bombardier Q400, a turboprop that seats 76 people, owned by Horizon Air, part of Alaska Airlines. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. The incident, which the FBI's Seattle office did not consider terrorism, raises questions about airport security. The worker performed several aerial stunts in the stolen aircraft before ultimately crashing on Ketron Island. Kathleen Reichel said she watched the planes pass by for about two minutes. His 75-minute flight during the golden twilight took him south and west, toward the Olympic Mountains. Richard Russell Plane Crash Video Explained His family says it's clear he didn't mean to harm anyone. Win Tickets to KISS at Climate Pledge Arena on November 6, 2023. Authorities said he used a tractor to rotate the plane 180 degrees, positioning it so that he could taxi toward a runway. Minimum wage, we'll chalk it up to that. Ah, dammit. The jets were not involved in the crash, it said. Human remains were found in wake of Friday's tragic plane crash. You know?". "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. He is the author of The Plane That Wasn't There: Why We Haven't Found MH370. They say says this is a complete shock. 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. Mr Russell was at times jovial at one point he assured SeaTac's tower that he didn't need help controlling the airplane because he had played some video games and questioned if it could do a backflip and was at others melancholic. Playing What We Want In Seattle! That's just not safe.". New Video Shows Man Stealing Horizon Air Plane In 2018 Incident Jason Silverstein contributed to this report. About to take off. Despite the timing of the crash during prime fire season, the fires in the video seemed to be small and scattered. Chilling CCTV footage shows Richard Russell stealing plane - HITC It was one of the strangest, scariest, most bizarre events of 2018: A baggage handler at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport moseyed onto the tarmac, hopped in an unoccupied Horizon Air passenger plane, taxied to an empty runway, and took off. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Video captures Richard Russell doing tricks in stolen Horizon Air plane strangest, scariest, most bizarre events of 2018. The Sky Thief Richard Russell Plane Crash Video Gone Viral: What Meyer had recently been passed over for promotion and had been arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct. "There is a protocol to not allow anyone singularly to get onboard an aircraft," Soucie said. When Rolling Stone published its article last year, no major regulatory or security changes had been implemented in response to Russells deadly flight. F-15s were scrambled out of their base at Portland International Airport to intercept the plane. He said his actions were "going to disappoint" the people who cared for him, and described himself as "just a broken guy" with "a few screws loose, I guess.". Domestic Flights, Airplane Door Rips Open Midflight on Russian Plane, Airport Worker Ingested Into Jet Engine, Dies, The Concorde Disaster, Battle Tanks, and More. 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. 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. The plane had been parked in a maintenance area and was not scheduled for a passenger flight, Tilden said. ", The statement said Russell, 29, was "a faithful husband, a loving son and a good friend. Who Was Richard Russell? Man Steals Airplane and Crashes | Time Relatives of Richard Russell say they are "stunned and heartbroken" after the airline worker stole a passenger plane Friday from the Seattle-Tacoma . Colton Harris Moore only got 6 years for stealing a plane and crashing it. A curious and ultimately tragic story from 2018 finally has a little more context, thanks to security camera footage. It's gonna be crazy," Mr Russel said. Also see | Cockpit audio from worker who stole empty plane from Sea-Tac Airport. F-15 "pilots kept plane out of harms way and people on ground safe," the sheriff's office tweeted. The family of a man who authorities saystole an airplane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and later crashed it called him a faithful husband, loving son and good friend. The perpetrator, 29-year-old Richard Russell, was a Horizon Air ground service agent with no piloting experience. Im coming home! But it was not to be. he joked. 2023 Cable News Network. He left prison after less than 5 years, on parole. Win Tickets to Weezer with Spoon and White Reaper at White River Amphitheater on August 20th! Man who took Horizon Air plane from Sea-Tac Airport was quiet, well He complimented the controller: "You are very calm, collect, poised," he said. "He might have been talking to himself in the cockpit," so the voice recorder may provide additional information that wasn't recorded in radio traffic, she said. I've played some video games before, he said. 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. "This is a complete shock to us," the family said in a statement Saturday night. Onlooker John Waldron took video that shows the plane rolling inverted at low altitude, then pulling into a half-loop in a aerobatic high-g maneuver called a split S. Whether through skill or luck, Russell managed to pull the plane out of its rapid descent just above the wave tops. "I thought they were practicing for an air show," he said. The newly published video, coupled with Rolling Stones detailed reconstruction of the events of August 10, 2018, paint the picture of a cheerful, gregarious fellow. Video from a witness on the ground shows the plane at one point pulling up for a loop, putting the aircraft upside-down and then pulling back up just feet above a body of water. Also see | Stolen plane narrowly missed family inside Ketron Island cabin. Late Friday, a Horizon Air employee believed to be Russell stole an empty turboprop plane, took off from SeaTac and crashed on Ketron Island, a small island in the Puget Sound that is home to about two dozen residents. The King County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. By Louis Lucero II and Melissa Gomez. The job of a ground service agent includes directing aircraft for takeoff and gate approach, handling baggage and tidying and de-icing planes, authorities 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. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. "If you're going to access the aircraft you make sure that you check with someone else, and that someone else (will confirm) that you have the right authority to get onto that aircraft.". video Plane crashes near Seattle airport. "Congratulations. He passed a series of background checks to gain his position, as he didn't have any criminal convictions. Officials don't believe Russell had a pilot's license, and they don't know how he knew to fly the plane. Russell was recorded having multiple conversations with air traffic controllers who were trying to talk him into landing. 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. In a final video project set to cheery music, Russell included selfies from airport grounds and photos from his many trips. SEATAC, Wash. - It was a shocking scene above the Puget Sound, as Horizon Airlines employee Richard Russell stole and flew a turboprop from Sea-Tac Airport while air traffic tried to talk him . The plane eventually crashed on sparsely populated Ketron Island, starting a fire in the woods but injuring no one outside the plane. "I lift a lot of bags. During an exchange with air traffic controllers, Russell mentioned he had some experience using flight simulator software. An air traffic controller called him "Rich," and tried to convince him to land the airplane. He eventually climbs inside the cockpit and fires up the engine.