SEATTLE, WA — A distraught and potentially suicidal man stole a Horizon Air Q400 turboprop plane from Sea-Tac Airport Friday night, eventually crashing the commercial jet into Ketron Island in Pierce county, officials said. The Seattle Times first reported Saturday that the 29-year-old Horizon Air employee is Richard “Beebo” Russell.
The plane was stolen around 8:30 p.m. Friday while it was in a maintenance position, meaning it was not scheduled for take-off. Russell worked as a ground service employee at Sea-Tac and was the only person on board the plane, according to Alaska Airlines.
On Saturday evening, Russell’s family released a statement saying they are shocked at what he did. The statement said that the family will not comment further on the matter, asking for space as they mourn the man they call “Beebo.”
“This is a complete shock to us. We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now. Without Him we would be hopeless. As the voice recordings show, Beebo’s intent was not to harm anyone and he was right in saying that there are so many people who loved him,” the statement read in part.
Saturday morning, Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden expressed sympathy for Russell’s family. He said Alaska would use the incident to learn how to prevent such an incident in the future. Alaska is Horizon Air’s parent company.
“I want to acknowledge and express my gratitude to the FAA air traffic control professionals, the Washington and Oregon Air National Guard and the Pierce County first responders for their strong and professional response to last night’s event,” Tilden said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) dispatched two F-15C fighter jets from Portland to intercept the stolen aircraft in the vicinity of McChord Air Force Base. NORAD said the fighters were working to redirect the aircraft out over the Pacific Ocean when it crashed. The fighters did not fire on the aircraft, NORAD said.
Special Agent Jay S. Tabb said Saturday morning that the FBI will lead the investigation into the plane theft with assistance from the FAA and NTSB. The FBI declined to confirm that Russell is the person who stole and crashed the plane.
According to social media profiles, Russell was born in Florida, grew up in Alaska, and lived in Sumner. He was married and made recordings recently with his Horizon Air coworkers.
Thousands of Puget Sound residents witnessed the plane flying over the region. Scores of photographs and videos captured the incident from its startling beginning to its tragic end.
“There are still a lot of unknowns surrounding tonight’s tragic incident of a stolen Horizon Airline plane,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a pair of tweets. “The responding fighter pilots flew alongside the aircraft and were ready to do whatever was needed to protect us, but in the end the man flying the stolen plane crashed.
“I want to thank the Air National Guard from Washington and Oregon for scrambling jets to keep Washingtonians safe. Those pilots are trained for moments like tonight and showed they are ready and capable.”
Normal operations resumed at Sea-Tac shortly after the stolen plane crashed.
Russell could be heard on audio recordings telling air traffic controllers that he is “just a broken guy.”An air traffic controller refers to him as “Rich.”
“There is a runway just off to your right side in about a mile,” the controller says, trying to get Russell to land at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“Oh man. Those guys will rough me up if I try and land there,” the man responded, later adding “This is probably jail time for life, huh?”
Later Russell said: “I’ve got a lot of people that care about me. It’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this…Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess.”
Officials said Saturday that the Russell was a 3-1/2 year Horizon employee and had clearance to be among aircraft, but that to their knowledge. He wasn’t a licensed pilot.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said Friday night that the employee acted alone and described him as suicidal.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump has been briefed on the situation.
Horizon Air Chief Operating Officer Constance van Muehlen said in a video statement posted to Twitter that the company’s hearts were with the family of the individual onboard as well as all the Alaska Air and Horizon Air employees. Horizon Air is a regional airline that is part of Alaska Air group.
The airplane crash sparked a brush fire that was still burning across about two acres Saturday morning, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. No injuries were reported on the barely populated island.
Reporting from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Photo: Heavy smoke seen coming from Ketron Island, Photo by Marissa Anthony @marissaaAnthony via Twitter, used with permission
Click Here: brisbane lions guernsey 2019