A ground service agent working on the runway took a plane on an unauthorized flight after stealing it. He then plunged the plane to his death but not before leaving an emotional message to his family members over the aircraft radio.
The event that happened back in 2018 was a shocking one, as the man stole an empty passenger plane for this endeavor.
The plane was stolen from Seattle Airport
Richard Russell, who was a ground service agent for The Horizon Air was a 29-year-old from Sumner, Washington.
He stole the plane from Seattle Airport, USA, before taking it on an unauthorized ride having not been a licensed pilot himself.
Russell was a member of the ground team
The man who stole the plane was a member of the airport runway’s tow team, having access to the aircrafts but no authorization to fly them.
Part of his job, which he had for four years before the incident, was to reposition planes on the runway.
The man stole the plane in August
On August 10 in 2018, Russell stole and flew an empty passenger plane before crashing into Ketron Island in the Puget Sound in Washington.
He had been pursued by fighter jets after he took off and had seemed to be performing stunts with the plane.
The worker had been authorized to be on site
Russell hadn’t snuck onto the runway but was rather authorized to be there. He had clearance at the Sea-Tac International Airport as he was there to use a pushback tractor machine.
He used the machine to board a Horizon Air Q400 aircraft before removing it and taking off with the plane.
Air traffic control tried to stop him
Since the incident and the crash, sound recordings from his endeavor were investigated, including his conversation with air traffic control.
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An air traffic controller had tried to convince him to land the aircraft, but the man was heard to refuse.
Russell left a message for his family
In a recording broadcast by ITV, his last conversation was heard where he was confessing to the knowledge that the situation would be disappointing for his loved ones.
While speaking to air traffic control he said, “I’ve got a lot of people that care about me. It’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this.”
The man issued an apology to his loved ones
He proceeded with his statement, “I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess, never really knew it till now.”
The harrowing statement is sure to leave anyone upset, especially a loved one.
Russell thought about landing the plane
In the audio recording, Russell said that he might land the plane but not before doing a barrel roll with the aircraft first, by the end he would go “nose down and call it a night.”
Since then, the man’s family have issued a statement with their response.
Russell’s family remembers him well
The man was nicknamed Beebo by his loved ones, and his family said that he was “a faithful husband, a loving son and a good friend.”
“It may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but Beebo was a warm, compassionate man,” they added.
Transportation experts have also weighed in
Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent and transportation expert said, “Here we have an employee who was vetted to the level to have access to the aircraft and had a skill set proficient enough to take off with that plane.”
The situation was surely a harrowing one.
