Suicide by hijack

'Well-liked, quiet' Seattle airport worker who stole a 76-seat plane for an hour-long joyride at the end of his shift, then crashed it into an island after telling air traffic controllers he 'had a few screws loose'

The man who hijacked an Alaska Airlines plane in Seattle on Friday night taking it for a joyride before crashing on an island in a ball of flames has been identified as Richard Russell, a married 29-year-old Horizon Air employee.
Russell had worked for Horizon Air at Seattle-Tacoma Airport for nearly four years, according to his LinkedIn account, as a ground service agent and an operations agent. 
Authorities have yet to confirm the hijacker's identity, although Russell's Facebook friends and a former co-worker announced the news early Saturday morning.  Russell, who authorities called ‘suicidal’, hijacked an empty 76-seat Horizon Air turboprop Q400 around 8pm on Friday after taking the aircraft from the maintenance area. 
It remains unclear how he was able to gain access to the aircraft and fly it out of the airport undetected. Officials said during a press conference on Saturday that Russell used a push back tractor to rotate the plane 180 degrees before take off. Horizon Air CEO Gary Beck told reporters that he does not believe Russell had a pilot license. 

'We don't know how he learned to do that,' Beck said when asked how Russell was able to perform loop-the-loops and barrels while flying the aircraft. 'Commercial aircraft are complex machines. No idea how he achieved that experience.'
Horizon Air COO Constance von Muehlen said in a video statement that ‘our hearts are with the family of the individual on board as well as all our Alaska Air and Horizon Air employees’.
Russell was born in Key West, Florida and moved to Alaska when he was seven years old, according to a 2017 blog post. He met his wife, Hannah, in 2010 while they were both in school and married one year later. It doesn’t appear that they had any children.

According to Russell’s blog, he and Hannah opened a bakery called Hannah Marie’s Bakery in North Bend, Oregon and ran it for three years.
In 2015, the couple relocated to Seattle ‘because we were both so far removed from our families’, Russell wrote.
‘Failing to convince Hannah of Alaska’s greatness, we settled on Sumner because of its close proximity to her family,’ he posted.
While living in Seattle, Russell started working for Horizon Air writing that he enjoyed being able to travel to Alaska in his spare time. Russell, who was pursuing his bachelor’s degree for social sciences from Washington State University, said he wanted to move up in his company to one day work in a management position.
The Horizon Air worker, however, also had other dreams, writing on his blog that he was considering becoming a military officer.
Russell’s blog is filled with pictures of him and his wife traveling across the globe. The 29-year-old also shared pictures from his wedding day and several videos showcasing what he does at work.

In one video, apparently for a class project, Russell introduces himself as ‘Beebo Russell’ and says he ‘lifts a lot of bags’ at his job.
‘Like a lot of bags,’ he says. ‘So many bags.’
He went on to say that because of his job he's been able to visit places like France, Idaho, Mexico, Ireland and Alaska. Russell ended the nearly two-minute long video by sharing photos of his family members, none of which have publicly commented on the incident.  
Rick Christenson, a retired operational supervisor for Horizon Air, told that Russell was 'quiet' and 'a nice kid'. 
Christenson didn't supervise Russell's team, but said he saw the 29-year-old in passing while at work. 

'He always had a nice smile,' he said. ‘He seemed quiet, and he always had a smile. The people that knew him said he was a nice guy.’ 
Christenson said he was sitting on his deck Friday night at his Tacoma home with his wife, his cousin and his cousin's wife when he saw the Horizon Q400 fly over his house. 
‘All of a sudden one of the Horizon Q400s came over the house at 500 feet, followed by two F-15s; one was high, one was low,’ Christenson said, adding that he knew something was wrong because the plane was flying way too low.
The former supervisor said he grabbed a pair of binoculars to watch the aircraft, admitting that he was 'scared' and 'concerned' because he didn't know what was going on. 
‘He was doing a lot of weird flying, weird turns,' he said, 'but he was coming back towards us, towards our way.' 
Christenson said while the plane was over the water it did a 360 degree roll 'and went into a steep dive'. 
‘He brought the one wing up and the whole airplane rolled and as it rolled it went into a dive. It looked control,’ he said, adding that the plane pulled up with less than 50 feet between the nose of the aircraft and the water. 
Christenson said two minutes later there was ‘big plume of black smoke’, indicating the plane had crashed.

During a press conference on Saturday, officials said they did not believe Russell had a pilot license. Christenson said because of the complicated rolls and dives he was doing, Russell may have had some type of experience. 
Shortly after the plane took off, traffic controllers were heard on an Internet livestream speaking to a man identified as 'Rich'.

'There is the runway just off your right side in about a mile, do you see that?' the traffic controller said.
'Oh those guys will try to rough me up if I try land there…,' Rich replied. 'I think I might mess something up there too. I wouldn't want to do that. Oh they probably have got anti-aircraft.'
'They don't have any of that stuff, we are just trying to find you a place to land safely.'
'Yeah, not quite ready to bring it down just yet, but holy smokes I need to stop looking at the fuel 'cos it's going down quick.'
'OK, Rich, if you could, could you start a left-hand turn and we'll take you down to the south-east.'
'This is probably jail time for life, huh? I would hope it is for a guy like me. '  

Rich: I've got a lot of people that care about me. It's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. 
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, until now
 Rich: I'm down to 2,100, I started at like 30-something. 
Air traffic control: Rich, you said you had 2,100 pounds of fuel left? 
Rich: Yeah, I don't know what the burnage, burnout? Is like on a takeoff, but yeah, it's burned quite a bit faster than I expected.
 Air traffic control: Right now he's just flying around, and he just needs some help controlling the aircraft.
Rich: Nah I mean, I don't need that much help. I've played some video games before. I would like to figure out how to get this… make it pressurized or something so I'm not lightheaded.
 Rich: Ah minimum wage. We'll chalk it up to that. Maybe that will grease the gears a little bit with the higher-ups
 Rich: Damnit Andrew, people's lives are at stake here.
Air traffic control: Ah Rich, don't say stuff like that.
Rich: I don't want to hurt anyone, I just want you to whisper sweet nothings into my ear.
 Rich: Hey do you think if I land this successfully Alaska will give me a job as a pilot? 
Air traffic control: You know, I think they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off. 
Rich: Yeah right! Nah, I'm a white guy
 Air traffic control: If you wanted to land, probably your best bet is that runway just ahead and to your left. Again, that's McCourt (sic) Field. 
If you wanted to try, that might be the best way to set up and see if you can land there. Or just like the pilot's suggestion, the other option might be over Puget Sound, into the water. 
Rich: Dang, did you talk to McCourt, cause I don't know if I'd be happy with you telling me I could land like that, cause I could really mess some stuff up. 
Air traffic control: Well Rich I already talked to 'em. Just like me, what we want to see is you not get hurt, or anyone else get hurt. So if you want to try to land, that's the way to go. 
Rich: Hey I want the coordinates of that orca, you know, the mama orca with the baby. I want to see that guy.
 Rich: Hey, is that pilot on? I want to know what this weather is going to be like in the Olympics (mountains). 
Air traffic control: Well, if you can see the Olympics, the weather's good. I can see the Olympics from my window, and it looks pretty good over there. 
Rich: Alright, 'cause I felt some, what felt like turbulence around Rainer, but there was no clouds hardly. 
Air traffic control: Oh, that's just the wind blowing over all over the bumpy surfaces there.
 Captain Bill: Alright Rich, this is Captain Bill. Congratulations, you did that, now let's try to land that airplane safely and not hurt anyone on the ground. 
Rich: Alright, damnit, I don't know man, I don't know. I don't want to… I was kind of hoping that would be it, you know.
 Rich: I'm gonna land it, in a safe kind of manner. I think I'm gonna try to do a barrel roll, and if that goes good, I'm just gonna nose down and call it a night. 
Air traffic control: Well Rich, before you do that, let's think about this. I've got another pilot coming up, pilot Joel, in just a minute here I hope. And we'll be able to give you some advice on what to do next.
 Rich: I feel like one of my engines is going out or something.
Air traffic control: OK Rich, if you could, you just want to keep that plane right over the water. Maybe keep the aircraft nice and low.
 Rich: Just kind of lightheaded, dizzy. Man, the sights went by so fast. I was thinking, like, I'm going to have this moment of serenity, take in all the sights. There's a lot of pretty stuff, but they're prettier in a different context.
 Air traffic control: Do you have any idea of how much fuel you have left? 
Rich: Oh man, not enough. Not enough to get by. Like, uh, 760? 760 pounds?
 Air traffic control: Just flying around the plane, you seem comfortable with that?
Rich: Oh hell yeah, it’s a blast. I’ve played video games before so I know what I’m doing a little bit.
 Air traffic control: OK, and you can see all the terrain around you, you’ve got no issue with visibility or anything?

Rich: Naw, everything’s peachy, peachy clean. Just did a little circle around Rainer, it’s beautiful. I think I’ve got some gas to go check out the Olympics (mountains).
 Rich: I wouldn’t know how to land it, I wasn’t really planning on landing it.
 Rich: Sorry, my mic came off, I threw up a little bit. I’m sorry about this, I hope this doesn’t ruin your day.
 Rich: Man, have you been to the Olympics? These guys are gorgeous, holy smokes.

Air traffic control: Ya, I have been out there, it’s always a nice drive.

Rich: (inaudible)

Air traffic control: Hey I bet you do. I haven’t done much hiking over there. But if you could start a left turn, and back towards the east. I know you’re getting a good view there, but if you go too much farther in that direction I won’t be able to hear you anymore.

Rich: Hey pilot guy, can this thing do a backflip, you think?
 Rich: I wouldn’t mind just shooting the s**t with you guys, but it’s all business, you know?  

During a press conference on Saturday morning NTSB investigator Debra Eckrote said they are trying to determine 'what his process was and where the aircraft was going'.

'He's ground support so, you know, they have access to aircraft,' she said, adding that that we're 'very lucky' the plane went down on a 'very underpopulated island'.  

She said the plane came to rest in a thick underbrush on Ketron Island, and first responders had to 'blaze a trail' to get to the wreckage. 

Eckrote said the plane is 'highly fragmented' and the wings were torn off in the crash. She said responders could not identify a lot Friday night because there was a fire, but they were taking Saturday to 'focus on the areas that we're looking for'.

Eckrote called the incident 'very usual' and said the FBI were doing a background check on Russell to determine a motive.    

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Saturday morning that president Trump was briefed on the incident and was monitoring the situation. She also praised the response effort for its 'swift action' and ensuring public safety.

Two F-15 fighter jets scrambled from Portland 'minutes' after the plane took off to intercept it, according to Pierce County Sheriff's Office. 

Witnesses described seeing the aircraft performing barrel rolls and loop-the-loops as the military planes directed it away from highly-populated areas and towards Ketron Island, where it crashed into a ball of flame. 

Police blamed 'doing stunts in the air and a lack of flying skills' for the crash. 
Sheriff Paul Pastor confirmed the incident was 'not terrorist related' and described it as 'a joyride gone terribly wrong'. He said the man 'did something foolish and may well have paid with his life'. 
During the hijacking, Russell joked with air traffic controllers for more than 20 minutes before crashing the plane into an island 25 miles away.