3 Facts About Stolen Airplane in Seattle: What It Means for Private Aviation

On Friday evening the 10th of August 2018 Sea Tac airport was thrown into chaos. A suicidal ramper / baggage handler stole an airplane for a joy ride. What you need to know about the 3 Facts About Stolen Airplane in Seattle: What It Means for Private Aviation.

3 Facts About Stolen Airplane in Seattle: What It Means for Private Aviation

What we know is the the flight lasted over an hour. Eventually the airplane crashed and luckily nobody was injured during the ordeal other then the pilot.

The 3 Facts About Stolen Airplane in Seattle: What It Means for Private Aviation are as follows:

1. The stolen airplane was owned and operated by Horizon Air which is a sister company of Alaska Airlines who’s parent is Alaska Air Group. The turboprop airplane was stolen from the maintenance area of Seattle’s International Airport (SEA).
2. The person that stole the airplane was employed by the airline as a baggage handler and ramper. His name was Richard Russell and he is not know to be a pilot. On radio transmissions he said he had played video games to learn how to fly.
3. The stolen airplane was flown for over one hour before crashing. The airplane was accompanied by US Airforce fighter jets but they did not shoot the airplane down. As the pilot Richard Russell was in radio contact with air traffic control.

The radio transmissions on the 3 Facts About Stolen Airplane in Seattle: What It Means for Private Aviation are available HERE

The Airplane was Stolen by Richard Russell

Related: 5 Reasons United Airlines PR Disaster Proved Flying Private Jets is a Better Choice

This airplane belonged to a airline which has different protocols then private aviation for safety. There will be most definitely be review in both aviation sectors of safety protocols.

The FBI, TSA, NTSB and several other law enforcement agencies are involved. There will be close review of procedures and security measures.

It is still to early to tell what may be affected in private aviation but there will definitely be an impact.

Rest assured that at Pride Jets we only work with pilots and ground crews that adhere to most strict safety guidelines and procedures.

If you consider consider flying private jet or wish to learn more about the 3 Facts About Stolen Airplane in Seattle: What It Means for Private Aviation please contact us here at Pride Jets! We are here to serve.