https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/19158584/chilling-cctv-baggage-handler-steals-plane-crashing-suicide/
CHILLING CCTV has revealed the moment an airport baggage handler stole a plane before deliberately crashing it on a remote island.
Richard Russell, 29, can be seen walking through security at Seattle Airport dressed in a black T-shirt with "The Sky’s No Limit" printed on the back.
The Port of Seattle has now released the CCTV from both inside the terminal and out on the tarmac from the shocking incident in August 2018.
More than five hours after passing through security, Russell is seen heading outside to the cargo area of the airport.
He uses a tow vehicle to push the Alaska Airlines propeller aircraft out onto a taxiway as Russell's oblivious co-workers can be seen walking nearby.
Air traffic control tried to make contact with the plane after sensing something wasn't right - but they received no response.
Russell can be seen opening the cabin door to the Q400 Turboprop, jumping into the cockpit and taking off.
He brazenly tells the control tower: "Seattle ground Horizon guy. About to take off. It's gonna be crazy.
"Hey, I found myself in a predicament. I'm in the air right now. And just gonna soar around."
Air traffic controllers can be heard pleading with Russell to make a safe landing - but the airport worker continues to joke with them.
He jokes: "Hey do you think if I land this successfully Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?"
The controllers try to direct Russell to a nearby runway where he can safely set the plane down.
"There is the runway just off your right side in about a mile, do you see that?" the traffic controller said.
But Russell replied: "Oh those guys will try to rough me up if I try land there… I think I might mess something up there too. I wouldn't want to do that. Oh, they probably have got anti-aircraft."
The traffic controller responded: "They don't have any of that stuff, we are just trying to find you a place to land safely."
While in the sky, Russell is heard telling air traffic control he is "just a broken guy" and said he was preparing for "jail time for life."
According to the Seattle Times, 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.
"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."
Two F-15 fighter jets scrambled from Portland just minutes after the plane took off.
The jets didn't manage to intercept the plane before Russell deliberately crashed it on a remote island 30 miles away, killing himself, around 90 minutes after taking off.
'UNFATHOMABLE'
Witnesses said they saw Russell performing barrel rolls and loop-the-loops as the military jets kept it away from highly-populated areas.
At the time of the crash, Sheriff Paul Pastor described the crash as "a joyride gone terribly wrong."
According to the cockpit audio recordings, Russell insisted he didn't need any help flying the aircraft as he had played video games.
"Although investigators received information regarding Russell's background, possible stressors, and personal life, no element provided a clear motivation for Russell's actions," an FBI report said, per MailOnline.
The FBI ruled his death as suicide.
Russell moved to Seattle with his wife in 2015, where he started working for Alaska Airlines at the airport.
His main role as a baggage handler was to load and unload bags, direct aircraft for take-off, and de-ice planes in the winter.
On the day of the incident, witness Royal King was photographing a wedding when he saw the low-flying plane being chased by the military jets.
He told The Seattle Times: "It was unfathomable, it was something out of a movie.
"The smoke lingered. You could still hear the F-15s, which were flying low.
"That’s somebody’s son or husband or daughter. This is a tragedy."
Flights in and out of Seattle were briefly halted at the time of the hijacking while planes on the runway were ordered to stay in position.
video to embed
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