HORIZON AIR - Q400. WERE WE GIVEN THE FULL STORY?
Below is an article which came through on my Twitter feed. I've highlighted in blue the aspects which flag up for me as requiring further questions/answers/validation. My comments are in brown italics.
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Man who took Horizon Air plane from Sea-Tac Airport was quiet, well liked, says former co-worker
Originally published August 11, 2018 at 11:50 am Updated August 11, 2018 at 9:32 pm
Richard “Beebo” Russell, the Horizon Air employee who stole a plane from Sea-Tac Airport on Friday night, performed midair acrobatics over Puget Sound and then crashed into an island, was an avid traveler, a high-school football standout and Christian youth leader who once operated an Oregon bakery with his wife. [NO Pilot's licence but still manages to do acrobatics!]
Russell, 29, was presumed killed in the crash of the Bombardier Q400 turboprop on Ketron Island, just west of Steilacoom. Investigators searched the site Saturday for the aircraft’s flight-data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. [Presumed killed????] also [Searched the site for the CVR and FDR! So.... did we find it?]
“He was a quiet guy. It seemed like he was well liked by the other workers,” said Rick Christenson, an operational supervisor with Horizon Air who retired in May. “I feel really bad for Richard and for his family. I hope they can make it through this.” Russell worked as a member of Horizon’s tow team, Christenson said, and helped handle baggage for the airline. [Remember this guy has NO PILOT'S LICENCE OR FLYING EXPERIENCE!]
Two-person tow teams are responsible for moving airplanes on the tarmac. One person drives a tow tug, pulling the plane. The other communicates with the tower from inside the airplane’s cockpit and can apply the plane’s brakes in an emergency, Christenson said.
Tow teams are trained how to use some airplane systems such as the auxiliary power unit, hydraulics and radios, said Christenson, who did not know Russell well. Before hearing that Russell was involved, Christenson watched as the incident played out Friday night. He was sitting on the deck outside of his cousin’s home, looking out at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Puget Sound. The sun had begun to redden and fall into summer’s haze. [Experience of 'some airplane systems.' Russell states, 'I wasn't expecting to have to land this thing!' That could be indicative of MK Ultra and certainly someone who's experiencing the aircraft being remotely flown by someone else - especially doing acrobatics!]
“It was absolutely beautiful,” he said.
Suddenly, two F-15 fighter jets appeared, and took hard turns south.
“I said, something’s weird. Something’s not right here.” Ten minutes later, he said, a commercial plane cruised about 500 feet above his cousin’s home, he said.
“We got binoculars and were watching him. He was flying real strange, hard banks, real radical flying for a Dash-8,” Christenson said.
The plane plunged toward the water in a nose dive at one point. [Watch the video which will show you his descent and the pull-out which looks like something you'd need to have pretty good skills to complete, especially with the power-up on the 'climb-out.']
“We were all screaming, ‘Oh my god, oh my god,’ and I was yelling, ‘Pull up, pull up,’ ” Christenson said.
Somehow, Russell pulled out of the descent, seemingly just feet from the water, then took off farther south. [Of interest is the cool and collected manner of this guy. It sounds very much like he expected to take-off in the Q400, but that he was expecting something else [or someone else] to land it. I see no indication of fear, anxiety, or suicidal inclinations in the ATC recordings. I have included a link to the amateur showing his acrobatics and recovery from, also the 11 min ATC audio. It is well worth listening to and very revealing as to Russell's state of mind and the apparent lack of emotion/concern by the ATC Controller!]
Later, when he saw a cloud of black smoke, “I knew what happened,” Christenson said. Word soon spread among former colleagues.
“Everybody’s stunned … that something like this would happen,” Christenson said. “How could it? Everybody’s been through background checks.”
He said it was difficult to listen to the audio recording, widely published on news websites, as Russell communicated with an air traffic controller.
“It’s chilling listening to this young man. It makes me cringe,” Christenson said. “It was hard to sleep last night.”
A man who answered the door of the Graham home of Russell’s mother-in-law Saturday afternoon said the family was in shock and awaiting more information before speaking to the media. Relatives were arriving at the home as members of the media gathered outside.
Russell’s family and friends released a statement later Saturday, calling him a “warm, compassionate man.”
”This is a complete shock to us,” the statement read. “As the voice recordings show, Beebo’s intent was not to harm anyone and he was right in saying there are so many people who loved him.”
They declined to answer questions. [By 'choice' or by instruction?!]
Airline and law-enforcement officials did not publicly confirm Russell’s identity, but provided some details of his background and how he was able to steal the plane.
“He worked a shift yesterday. We believe he was in uniform,” said Brad Tilden, the chief executive officer of Alaska Air Group, the parent company to Horizon Air. “It was his job to be around airplanes.”
Tilden, speaking at a news conference Saturday at Sea-Tac Airport, said Russell had been with the company for nearly four years.
Tilden said the plane was parked at Plane Cargo 1, in the north side of the airport. The plane was not scheduled to fly Friday evening. [Is it possible for one sole person to do what this guy is alleged to have done - in particular, the push-back and start-up? Is there any CCTV footage which can validate these actions?!]
“The individual did use a pushback tractor to rotate the aircraft 180 degrees so he could then taxi the aircraft,” said Mike Ehl, a Port of Seattle official, confirming that the man did that himself, first driving the tractor and then the plane.
Just after 7:30 p.m., Russell took off. Tilden said the traffic control tower “did know this was an unauthorized departure.”
Horizon CEO Gary Beck said the ground-service agent, who is not believed to have had a pilot’s license, pulled off some “incredible maneuvers” once airborne.
“Commercial aircraft are complex machines,” he said. “So I don’t know how he achieved the experience that he did.” [These statements on their own are sufficient to raise eyebrows. What (if any) experience had he had at the controls flying ANY aircraft?]
Authorities believe Russell was the only person aboard the airplane. “But of course we haven’t confirmed that at the crash site,” said Jay S. Tabb Jr., the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle division. [How hard can this be given the nature of the crash scene and the remoteness. With that type of incident I would expect the wreckage to be contained within quite a tight area, and certainly close together - given that the aircraft did not break-up in flight, and the forest area would have restricted the scattering of the wreckage/body (or bodies)]
Asked about Russell’s mental state, Tabb said, “It’s way too early to comment on that. I’m sorry.” [Does this guy have any mental health history? What medications (if any) was he taking? Has he a previous history of suicidal tendencies?]
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department on Friday night speculated Russell may have crashed the plane intentionally. [This statement is very non-committal.]
According to sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer, that theory was based on Russell’s recorded conversation with air traffic control and at least one pilot who were trying to talk the man they called “Rich” into a safe landing. [Theories aren't good enough. Give us the facts, instead of a vague case!]
Russell said at one point that he didn’t know how to land the plane and “wasn’t really planning on landing it.” He also apologized to all the people who loved him, acknowledging they would be disappointed.
The audio recording also seems to indicate that Russell was weighing the consequences of his actions. When air traffic control directed him to land at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, he was concerned personnel there would “rough” him up. He then said, “This is probably like, uh, jail time for life, huh?”
Toward the end of the recording, after he has apparently completed an aerial maneuver, a pilot said, “Congratulations. You did that. Now let’s try to land that airplane safely and not hurt anybody on the ground.” [From the video, it looks fairly obvious he's doing the aerial maneuver - unless FADEC came into it..... which I concur with Abel Danger, that it most likely was the case.]
Russell responded, “Ah, dammit. I don’t want to. I don’t want to. I was kind of hoping that was going to be it.”
Some audio from the exchanges is unclear and provides a murky window into his thinking. [Which once again is theory and not damning evidence. Deal in FACTS damn it!]
“Think I’m gonna try to do a barrel roll and if that goes good, I’m just going to nose down and call it a night,” he said toward the end of the recorded audio. What he meant by “nose down” was unclear.
Russell was born in Key West, Florida, and moved to Wasilla, Alaska, at age 7, according to a blog he maintained. Biographical details in the blog posts correspond to information provided by authorities, including the city in which Russell lived, his age and his employment history.
Russell excelled in track and football at Wasilla High School, according to an Alaska newspaper, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
“This is not the Beebo I know,” Wasilla High School track-and-field coach Gary Howell told the newspaper. Howell described Russell as “an All-American kid” who was “super gregarious, funny, a hard worker.”
On the blog, Russell says he met his wife in Coos Bay, Oregon, in 2010 while both were going to school.
They married one year later and a month after that they opened a bakery in Oregon, which they ran for three years, according to the blog.
Russell, who didn’t have baking experience, was his wife’s apprentice, he told the Coos Bay World for a 2012 article. She told the newspaper Russell was laid-back and liked to tinker with experimental recipes.
Russell was active in church, and served as a leader in the local Christian youth ministry, Young Life.
“He was very, very friendly — automatically willing to bring everyone in,” said Hannah Holmes, who was also involved in Young Life. “A lot of the people he was helping were troubled kids.” Holmes said Russell had a penchant for writing, and would sometimes ask her for short-story writing prompts.
In 2015, Russell and his wife moved to Washington “because we were both so far removed from our families,” he wrote in the blog. “ … we settled on Sumner because of its close proximity to her family.”
Russell says he got a job working for Horizon and used his travel benefits to frequently fly up to Alaska. Videos posted on his blog detailed visits to Dublin, Ireland, Misty Fjords National Monument in Alaska, and southeastern France.
“In this season of life we enjoy exploring as much as possible, whether its a day (or so) trip to one of Alaska Airline’s destinations, or visiting a new area of Washington. We consider ourselves bakery connoisseurs and have to try a new one every place we go,” he wrote.
At times Friday, while Russell was piloting the stolen plane, it sounded like he was was sightseeing. [Sounds rather casual to me - especially to someone who is controlling an aircraft - commercial at that - for which they have no experience for, let alone a Pilot's Licence.]
Russell told the air traffic controller he’d flown around Mount Rainier and looked at the Olympic Mountains.
“The sights went by so fast,” he said. “I was thinking I would have this moment of serenity. I would be able to take in all the sights. There was a lot of pretty stuff, but, I think they’re prettier in a different context.”
Seattle Times staff reporters Scott Greenstone, Agueda Pacheco-Flores, Matt Day, Daniel Beekman and news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this story.
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Scroll down in article to locate the video footage of the aerial aerobatics. Further below that for the full audio between ATC and Russell. Below link shows aerial video footage close-up of crash site on island.
Still shot of part of crash site. Wreckage covers greater area however, which can be seen in the King5 video link above. I am satisfied in my mind that this is not a 'cut and dry' case and a not a simple accident. The calmness and quirky nature of the 'pilot,' the lack of 'distress' from either ATC or 'Pilot' does not seem fitting for this 'incident'. I also raise significant concerns over the aerobatic maneuvers 'alleged' to have been performed by Russell in the Q400. I make specific reference to his lack of experience in flight, other than personal home computer Flight Sims, and not having held a Pilot's License. This leads me to believe that this aircraft was NOT under his direct command, and unless I am exposed to evidence to the contrary, this is NOT a simple open and shut case of a nutter taking to the skies, and there is definitely nothing in the audio I have heard which indicates any suicidal intention or tendencies. Show me the medical history and let us interview the family, along with the Airline - Horizon - who employed him, AS A RAMP/BAGGAGE AGENT.]
