Family of man who stole plane at Sea-Tac express 'shock,' others say 'Beebo' was friendly guy

foxnews.com ^ | 8/12/18 | Bradford Betz

[Eagles Field]

Thankfully, for the rest of us, there aren’t as many lunatics like him, or you, around. Or how did you put it so quaintly “slightly off base” ... gee, ya think ?!

[RightGeek]

This guy didn’t sound excessively depressed to desperation.

That was my impression too. I wonder what prescription medications he was using.

[Revel]

Someone has to come up with 32 million to replace the plane. Oh and what is the sales tax on that ?

[shotgun]

I thought I heard yesterday that it only took 7 minutes from Portland for the ANG F15 to intercept him. Can you say afterburners...

[wardaddy]

Where’d he learn to fly like that

[CodeToad]

Millennial. Undisciplined, selfish, acts out, plays victim, harms others with his temper tantrums, etc.

The guy had nothing wrong in his life that his own decision making couldn’t correct.

[wardaddy]

Lovely...

Spoken like a true cat lady

Sometimes stereotypes just apply

The plane was insured....yes it’s a cost passed on to shareholders of the insurer and insured.

But it’s not relative to the pain of his family or his own anguish to take his own life at such a young age

He was once a little man toddler and people marveled over him and loved him...and hopefully he felt loved

I’ve seen few folks who killed themselves who were having the time of their lives

It costs you nothing to be less of a scold over such inner turmoil that would cause a young man in his prime to be so screwed up and conflicted to kill himself

I’m no saint before you start.....I’ve been a bad man so this isn’t moral prodding

And worse I own a car..an orange tabby named Sonny

He lives outside mostly except cold nights and kills things for a living and pleasure

[Governor Dinwiddie]

First thing they should do is an autopsy and look for a brain tumor or other abnormality.
 

[Chickensoup]

If there is a brain left...

[mass55th]

Friendly guys without a pilot’s license don’t steal an airplane, and take it on a joyride while putting other peoples’ lives in jeopardy.

[mass55th]

The guy had no pilot’s license, and stole a plane that could be used as a bomb. He could have gone “out in style” by flying into somebody’s home. He was a selfish POS whose biggest problem was that he wasn’t getting $15 an hour.

[mass55th]

"First thing they should do is an autopsy and look for a brain tumor or other abnormality. "

I doubt there's much left of him to even do drug tests on him.

[Kickass Conservative]

>>>Where’d he learn to fly like that<<<

According to what he said on the ATC Recordings, Video Games.

When this happened they said he was an Aircraft Mechanic which would have meant he would very familiar with the Aircraft. Now they are saying he was a Baggage Handler.

I’ll have to see what my Nephew has to say about this.
He works for the FAA as an Accident Investigator.

[Kickass Conservative]

>>>He was a selfish POS whose biggest problem was that he wasn’t getting $15 an hour<<<

So, he was making the same as a Burger Flipper who works at SEATAC thanks to the Minimum Wage Laws there.

[johniegrad]

He went out in style

Yes because grand theft airplane is something everyone should emulate.

[SamAdams76]

Some Freepers from the Boston area might remember a somewhat similar incident in May of 1989.

A postal worker named Alfred J Hunter had just shot his wife in a North Shore suburb and commandeered at gunpoint (AK-47) a Cessna at an airport in Beverly, MA.

Hunter spent the next few hours flying the plane up and down the coast and then started shooting the AK-47 out the window. Shells were landing all over Boston. Hunter repeatedly buzzed his workplace (a postal facility in Boston), simulating dive-bombing attacks, only to pull up at the last minute. He even flew under the Tobin Bridge with only 200 feet clearance. (The same Tobin Bridge that wife-killer Charles Stuart would jump off of only a few months later).

It was a crazy night. Air traffic to Logan was shut down. Police cars were going nuts all over the city as the plane continued to do nose-dives. It was even feared that he would crash into the Prudential building (he had fired a few shots into the 50-story observation area).

Hunter eventually landed the plane at Logan and was immediately surrounded. He ended up standing trial and is still in prison today (if he is still alive). There is a file picture of him taken below the morning of his capture.

This was pre-internet and pre-cell phone so there were not many photos of the incident (which happened in the late night hours).

[Pelham]

Yeah it’s kind of reminiscent of Charles Whitman. At least this guy wasn’t shooting people as he acted out his craziness. He sounds remarkably normal as he talks to the ATC.

[Pelham]

that dude looks like Cliff Clavin.

[Bratch]

[mabarker1]

Yeah something around that. Rock41 & Rock42 were in Full A/B on the Flight to the area. Multiple Sonic Booms on the way.

Link to Video, some pics and ATC Recording: http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22807/oregon-f-15s-scramble-to-seattle-to-intercept-possibly-stolen-q400-airliner

Here’s the whole Audio: http://garchives1.broadcastify.com/15227/20180810/201808102255-590200-15227.mp3