Richard Russell also known as “Sky King,” was the man behind the 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident. Russell was a 29-year-old ground service agent for Horizon Air, a regional subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. On August 10, 2018, he stole an empty Q400 turboprop aircraft and took off without formal flight training. During the flight, he performed dangerous aerial maneuvers, including loops and barrel rolls, while communicating with air traffic controllers. Tragically, after flying for around an hour, Russell crashed the plane into Ketron Island in Puget Sound, killing himself.
Richard Russell
