Seattle plane thief acted alone, says FBI

SEATTLE — Authorities say the Seattle airport ground crew worker who stole an empty commercial airplane had apparently searched online for flight instruction videos before he took off on a dizzying ride that soon crashed into a small island.

The FBI announced on Friday that it’s concluding the investigation into the unauthorized flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Aug. 10, after determining that 28-year-old Richard Russell of Sumner, Wash., acted alone.

Russell had worked for more than three years for Horizon Air, which is part of Alaska Air Group and flies shorter routes throughout the U.S. West.

“The FBI found this was an isolated, unanticipated incident by one individual,” the airline said in a statement. It also noted that the Transportation Security Administration’s separate investigation also determined Horizon Air didn’t violate security regulations.

The airline called it “a very difficult moment for us and many others” and said it is working with experts and the government to consider security “enhancements” going forward. The airport didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The FBI’s probe indicates that Russell arrived for work that afternoon at the airport without any issues.

By that evening, Russell was on and off the Horizon Air Q400, a turboprop plane that seats 76 people, to position it for flight. The plane then moved away from its parked location around 7:30 p.m. and was seen performing acrobatic stunts before the fatal plunge into a thick forest on Ketron Island. It was trailed by two military F-15C jets that scrambled from Portland, Ore., to chase the plane.

The medical examiner’s office in its review ruled the death a suicide caused by multiple traumatic injuries.