Posted on 08/11/2018 12:41:20 PM PDT by CedarDave
Richard Russell, who dreamed of being in the military and once ran a bakery with his wife, was identified as the suicidal airport mechanic who stole an airplane from Sea-Tac International Airport 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.
The man known as “Rich” in air traffic control audio and dubbed the “skyking” on Twitter broke hearts on social media as people followed the unauthorized flight because it came to a fatal end. 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.
On social media, Richard Russell used the name “Beebo Russell.” Although authorities have not released his name, The Seattle Times identified the man as Richard Russell.
(Excerpt) Read more at heavy.com ...
1. Richard Russell, Who Spent Time in Alaska [Wasilla], Was Religious & Told Air Traffic Controllers He Was ‘Broken’2. Richard Russell Posted a Video on YouTube About Being a Baggage Handler
3. Rich Once Ran a Bakery With His Wife & Wanted to Be in the Military
4. Richard Russell Was From Pierce County, Washington & Was Suicidal, Authorities Said
5. Rich Russell’s Wife Described Him as the Man Who Always Kept Her Laughing
He seems to have had a need to “be someone” more than he was, which a lot of people would envy.
I don’t know if he was just a typical obsessed-with-fame narcissist, like all the others our culture seems to be drowning in, or genuinely nuts.
He sounds like quite a character, but doesn’t really sound crazy. Makes me think he was on some kind of meds or maybe the relationship with wife suddenly went south.
And, did this alleged human take SSRIs?
A real product of contemporary American garbage culture, I would say.
Someone once said never read history, only biography.
I’m about a mile from the island. No wonder it smells like smoke at my office...
Another story naming the person who stole the plane:
His wife must be devastated by this.
Selfish. He wanted the spotlight at tremendous to himself, his wife, and endangered the safety of many.
Take off..optional
Landing ..mandatory
“did this alleged human take SSRIs?”
In an adult, the only consideration of interest would be if the dosage was being titrated at the time of this incident.
The PERP had zero consideration for anyone else.
I wish they’d have shot the plane down.
Ketron has about 6 homes on it btw. It’s very small island.
My office is less than half mile away. Sucks if i’d been killed by that a hole.
And just how the HELL do you steal an airplane from an international airport????? Good grief...
Agree.
Point well taken that we all have our breaking points.
However, the vast majority of people don’t take it anywhere near this level when they break.
This guy was broken, yes. But also spectacularly selfish.
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Russell said to dispatchers at one point, “You think if I can land this successfully, Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?” and the Air Traffic Control tower said, “I think they will give you a job doing anything if you pull this off.” He replied, “yeahhh right.” "I'm a white guy!"
The question I have is why was he able to operate the plane in the first place? All this security with the TSA (aka Thousands Standing Around), but none on the ramp. What did the rest of the “air side” people do, watch him pull the chocks, go to the cockpit, fire the thing up and taxi off? I only hope that a “real pilot” has be onboard a plane before any passengers are allowed on board.
Everything you need to know about how to start the engines on an aircraft and get rolling is on YouTube.
And he was cleared to be around aircraft as a baggage handler.
And just how the HELL do you steal an airplane from an international airport????? Good grief...
I am shocked that the TSA confiscating my beef jerky last week didn’t prevent this incident.
“Everything you need to know about how to start the engines on an aircraft and get rolling is on YouTube.
And he was cleared to be around aircraft as a baggage handler.”
I am a pilot so I understand that it doesn’t take a whole lot of reading to understand how to start a couple of turbines, but he still should not have had unfettered access to the cockpit. Plus I would think that when the chocks were pulled and the access door closed, it should have alerted someone.
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