Newly-released videos from the Port of Seattle show the moments leading up to an airport worker crashing a stolen airplane nearly four years ago.
Surveillance footage obtained by KOMO shows 28-year-old Richard Russell using a tow vehicle to pull a Horizon Air Q400 aircraft onto the tarmac before climbing into the cockpit on August 10, 2018. Nearby co-workers weren't even aware of Russell's actions, which happened six hours into his shift, according to reporters.
Russell, who was a ground services employee for Horizon Air, sat in the plane's cockpit for nearly an hour and a half before the unauthorized takeoff. The worker performed several aerial stunts in the stolen aircraft before ultimately crashing on Ketron Island. The King County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
FBI released more information about Russell and the incident earlier this year, including witness statements from family, friends, and co-workers. Investigators "did not identify any information that would suggest the theft of the aircraft was related to wider criminal activity or terrorist ideology," according to a summary of the FBI report. "Although investigators received information regarding Russell’s background, possible stressors, and personal life, no element provided a clear motivation for Russell’s actions."
The agency says the 28-year-old's loved ones hosted an intervention for him, who "seemed fine" besides increased drinking. In the days leading up to the theft and subsequent crash, employees and family didn't notice anything wrong with him, investigators wrote in the updated report.
"Russell was known as a quiet guy who read a lot," according to one witness statement. "Russell had a few unexcused absences, but nothing considered significant."