He stole a 76-seat Bombardier Q400 from Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Two NORAD F-15s scrambled from Portland. He was in contact with Air Traffic Control, apologized to his family. Said he was unwilling to land at a military base because "they would rough me up". Directed out over the Pacific by the fighters, crashed on an uninhabited island in Puget Sound.
A witness claimed he did a loop-de-loop but I didn't see it in his video.
I am completely convinced that suicidal depression can always be cured.
He had all the proper security credentials. He had been working his shift and was believed to still be in uniform. The baggage handler didn't seem out of place at all — until he was taxiing down the runway and taking off in a stolen passenger plane.
Media outlets identified him as Richard Russell, a 27-year-old who sparked a combination of amazement and fear as he flew — alone — a 76-seat Horizon Air Q400 plane for more than an hour before it crashed on a wooded area on Ketron Island south of Seattle.
He did a barrel roll. A daring swoop. Officials said they didn't believe he even had a pilot's license. "Incredible," Horizon Air President and Chief Executive Gary Beck said Saturday.
But investigators are still trying to understand why he decided to take the plane for a what appeared to be joy ride Friday evening from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The act also reignited discussions about airport and aviation security, with Alaska Airlines Chairman and CEO Brad Tilden repeating several times Saturday that passenger and employee safety was — and is — the company's primary concern.
Also at CNN.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday August 13 2018, @12:01AM (5 children)
Yep, that's the problem. He was good; but at minimum wage.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday August 14 2018, @10:42AM (4 children)
If he was working at a US airport with a clearance, he probably was making considerably more than minimum wage.
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday August 15 2018, @02:53AM (3 children)
“I don’t need that much help; I’ve played some video games before,” he told Air Traffic controllers trying to help him. “Ah, minimum wage. We’ll chalk it up to that. Maybe that will grease the gears a little bit with the higher-ups,” he said at another point.
https://heavy.com/news/2018/08/plane-hijacked-stolen-audio-seatac-seattle/ [heavy.com]
May not be true, but that's what I think I hear on the recording as well and you can listen to the whole communication yourself.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 15 2018, @11:45AM (2 children)
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday August 15 2018, @10:45PM (1 child)
Well, the whole discussion was about his motives so what he believes he makes is probably what matters, doesn't it? To put it simple, the guy did it because he was underpaid.
We could, off-course, discuss if the feeling of being underpaid is a medical condition (so called crazy).
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 16 2018, @03:08AM
Or maybe because he wanted to barrel-roll a large plane. Or maybe because he just wanted the attention.