Richard Russell was a 29-year-old baggage handler who worked at Sea-Tac International Airport in Washington. One evening in August 2018, he shocked the country when he stole an empty passenger plane and took it on a solo flight that ended in tragedy.
Russell was not a licensed pilot, but he had worked around airplanes for years. As part of a team that helped move aircraft around the airport, he had access to restricted areas and knew how the systems worked. On the evening of August 10, he walked through security, wearing a shirt that said “the sky’s no limit.” He then used airport equipment to tow a 70-seat Alaska Air plane out onto the runway.
CCTV footage showed him unhooking the plane from the tow vehicle. The aircraft started rolling forward slowly on its own, and Russell ran alongside it, opened the door, climbed in, and shut the door behind him—all without being stopped. Within five minutes, he had taken off.
Russell flew the aircraft for more than an hour. During that time, he spoke with air traffic controllers over the radio. The conversation was both haunting and heartbreaking. He admitted he wasn’t supposed to be flying and said he had learned a little about it from playing video games. He performed stunts in the sky, including rolls and loops, while fighter jets were sent to trail him.
Throughout the flight, Russell seemed calm but sad. In one of his final messages, 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 apologise to each and every one of them.” He also said, “I’m just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it till now.”
Although he briefly talked about possibly landing the plane, Russell ultimately said he was going to “go nose down and call it a night.” The plane crashed on Ketron Island, a small, sparsely populated area in Puget Sound. No one else was hurt, and no buildings were hit, but the wreckage burst into flames, confirming that Russell had died in the crash.
His family later said they were shocked and heartbroken, describing his actions as completely out of character. Richard had even posted videos in the past about his job and daily experiences at the airport, giving no hint of what was to come. His final flight remains one of the most unsettling and unusual incidents in recent aviation history.
