CCTV footage shows baggage handler stealing plane, crashes on island

Seattle officials reveal how a baggage handler stole an Alaska Airlines plane off the runway and took off… before dying in a fiery crash.

The Port of Seattle Just Released the 29-Year-Old’s CCTV Footage Richard Russell dragging Alaska Airlines’ Q400 Turboprop into position at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2018 — oddly enough, no one on the tarmac noticed.

Russell worked at the airport, and other footage shows him quietly walking through security a few hours before gaining access to the plane. He didn’t raise any red flags, most likely because he was an employee. Strangely enough, however, he was wearing a t-shirt that read “The Sky’s No Limit.”

Shortly after taxiing the plane and taking off, Russell crashed into a remote island in Puget Sound — not far from the airport — and a bystander documented the aftermath, showing clouds of smoke after his crash. The FBI ultimately ruled the incident a suicide.

First a conversation between Russell and air traffic control issued by The Seattle Times, reveals he wasn’t well versed in the details of flying – they ask him about his posture and position, which he calls “mumbo jumbo.”

Russell and air traffic control both appeared to remain calm during their interaction moments before his death – he said he wasn’t ready to bring the plane down, but said the fuel level was dropping faster than expected.