![]() Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden announced on the same day that the airline was coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, and the National Transportation Safety Board, and was “working to find out everything we possibly can about what happened”. It described the perpetrator, identified as 29-year-old Richard Russell, as suicidal and said his actions did not constitute a “terrorist incident”. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office both thanked the public for its accurate information, and acknowledged on August 11 that federal agencies would be leading the investigation, primarily the Seattle office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The two-acre fire the crash caused was suppressed by a lack of wind and dry brush, and was extinguished by the following morning. Firefighters from West Pierce Fire and Rescue and other nearby departments arrived on the island approximately 1.5 hours after the crash, due to waits for the Steilacoom–Anderson Island ferry, and contending with thick brush when crews arrived on scene. A tow boat crew was the first to respond. The Q400 ultimately crashed at 20:43 local time on Ketron Island in Puget Sound, Pierce County, Washington, killing the occupant and destroying the aircraft. The two F-15s attempted to direct the aircraft toward the Pacific Ocean, and did not fire on it. I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it, you know?” He added that he “wasn’t really planning on landing it.” A veteran pilot said the maneuvers “seemed pretty well executed, without either stalling or pulling the wings off.” When an air traffic controller requested he land the plane after these maneuvers, he said “I don’t know. Near the end of the flight, the aircraft was filmed doing aerobatic maneuvers over Puget Sound, footage of which appeared on social media. ATC said that “they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off,” to which he replied “Yeah right! Nah, I’m a white guy.” He spoke of wanting to do “a couple maneuvers to see what can do,” and requested the coordinates of an orca that had been brought to national attention, saying, “I want to go see that guy.” He stated that he did not want to hurt anyone, and in the final minutes of the communication apologized to his friends and family. I wouldn’t want to do that.” He asked ATC if he could get a job as a pilot with Alaska Airlines if he successfully landed the aircraft. ![]() I think I might mess something up there, too. Never really knew it until now.” When ATC suggested that the plane be landed at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, the occupant refused: “Those guys will rough me up if I try and land there. He said he was a “broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. The transmissions were on an open frequency and were quickly posted on social media websites. Seattle–Tacoma air traffic control (ATC) maintained radio contact with the occupant. Flights in and out of the airport were temporarily suspended. A KC-135R Stratotanker refueling tanker was also scrambled from Fairchild Air Force Base to support the F-15 flight. In response, two McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles of the Oregon Air National Guard‘s 142nd Fighter Wing under the command of NORAD were scrambled at around 20:15 local time from Portland Air National Guard Base to intercept it, both armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and going supersonic, generating sonic booms on the way to the Puget Sound area. ![]() A nearby Alaska Airlines jet on the ground reported that the aircraft had begun a takeoff roll with its wheels smoking, and an unauthorized take-off was made at 19:32 local time (02:32 UTC, August 11). Seattle Tower tried several times to get the aircraft to identify itself on frequency there was no response. The aircraft was stolen from Plane Cargo 1 at the north end of Sea–Tac airport and maneuvered to runway 16C via taxiways. Location of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and Ketron Island (not depicted on map) within Washington state.
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