Man, that must be some pretty good weed-- you went and wrote a whole SLOG post about the stolen-commuter-plane story instead of the woman-killed-by-pit-bulls story.

Thank God I didn't go to the airport for my Friday night Ambulatory.....

We live in a really strange times. Hope no one else was hurt in the crash.

This is evidently an audio clip from the pilot of the stolen plane to air traffic control:

"I’ve got a lot of people that care about me,” he said at one point. “It’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it until now.”

Most distressing.

At least there were no other victims.

"... never really knew until now."

So haunting. Poor fellow.

I don't know what his troubles were, but I do feel sorry for him.

It’s always ok to phone for help.

Preferably before you do something like this

What I want to know is why were jet fighters dispatched from Oregon to deal with this instead of Washington? I mean where are the Blue Angels when there's no SeaFair show?

guess we'll take him at his word and chalk it up to minimum wage

Working for minimum wage can drive people crazy. I hope he is ok but this system is kill nuts to ordinary people.

@8 & 9, the Blue Angels are show planes, and not part of any active duty combat squadron. They would never have planes or pilots on ready alert status. And since Seafair is over, they've already moved on to their next show, wherever that is.

I'm more surprised that fighters were scrambled from Portland rather than Joint Base Lewis-McChord. JBLM is much closer, and I would guess they would have fighters on ready alert at all times. Anybody know why Portland instead of JBLM?

@11: I suspect that airline mechanics make a hefty bit more than minimum wage, just a hunch.

ok Phoebe, what is your "hunch" as to what "ground service agents" typically make? Care to take a stab at that?

@11: Oops. Listened to it again. He does remark he's on minimum wage.

@8 & @12 - McCord AFB at JBLM outside Tacoma hosts airlift squadrons - i.e. cargo plans. Portland is the nearest fighter squadron, and I believe that's actually an Air National Guard unit that keeps a few fighters on ready alert at all times. The Navy has aircraft at Whidbey Island, but those are most often either deployed on aircraft carriers on ashore for maintainance.

It's all for show. The Air Force doesn't have enough fighers to keep a pair ready to scramble from every major airport; it's a regional system, and while F-15s can get from there to here pretty quick if they need to, they'd never have gotten here quickly enough if that guy took off with bad intent and headed straight for downtown Seattle. Fighers based at JBLM, or even SeaTac itself, wouldn't have caught him. No one would have known until he hit the Columbia Tower or went into one of the stadiums during a game.

It's all for show, just like the Mickey Mouse bullshit we go through with TSA. I can't take a Swiss Army knife onto a flight, but "a broken guy with a few screws loose" can steal an entire plane.

This poor guy fell through so many cracks. He cleary needed some kind of help, and it wasn't there for him; he could steal an aircraft from a major airport because he happend to have a job there. It sure sounds like ATC did everything they could do - they might have even been able to 'talk him down' if he'd been willing try.

But the fact that it's even possible for an individual to rather cassually steal a commercial aircraft and take off from a major airport shows how much of a farce the TSA bullshit is.

@14: It appears he wasn't a mechanic. I stand corrected. Thank you.

@16: Not a farce when threats are coming from the passenger side.

Dan, please consider adding suicide hotline numbers to your article and posts. This could be triggering for some. Thanks!
US: 1-800-273-8255
Canada: 1-833-456-4566

@16 Thanks. I WAS actually being sarcastic about the Blue Angels, but also honestly wondering why Oregon and not Washington. On 9/11 (I was living in NYC at the time), fighter jets were set to fly out of Long Island in response and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney told them to stand down (this is in the official 9/11 report if you are skeptical). I never understand not only why they were told to stand down, but also why they would have been considered the closest option to take down the flights headed for Washington, D.C. (especially flight 93).

Actually, what I said about 9/11 was not entirely the whole truth. It was a lot more complicated - a) because too many people involved thought it was a test or a joke and did understand it was actually really happening and b) the hijackers turned off the planes' transponders so there was no way to find the specific planes that had been hijacked or where they were going among all of the other planes in the air.

The details can be read here: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/08/norad200608

This is what I was referring to re: Long Island - the fighters are initially directed to a holding area just off the coast, near Long Island.

The expense of having fighterjets and pilots on standby near every airport in the country would be outrageous. I mean we sort of did that at the peak of the Cold War with bullshit like the bogus Nike-Zeus missile system and NORAD and all that. Back when we worried about strategic bombers. Now we know no fleets of bombers are going invade our air space when unstoppable ICBMS with multiple warheads are cheaper. Yes. They are unstoppable. Anti ballistic missile systems don’t work against MRV’s.

So the Pentagon and congress decided it was cool spend billions on just one tactical jet and that it was more important to bully society’s just out of the Iron Age. These days all that super expensive hardware is “forward” deployed. So we can bomb people who don’t even have an air force.

This may surprise you to learn, but like school shootings and gun homicide, flying airplanes into buildings and terrorism are not considered an existential threat by our “strategic” planners (and they’re not). They’re considered an excuse.

So, if some nuts want to steal planes and fly them into buildings the only thing really stoping them are flight crews and passengers. Not the TSA. AND. Definitely not fighter jets. Which, if you think about it, is a stupid idea anyway. Like, an F-15 shooting down a passenger jet over a populated area? Tons of flaming debris comes raining down on highways, homes, malls, office buildings...

...yeah, that’s just great.

A sad story on many levels.

Here's some compiled audio before it crashed:

Part 1:
https://youtu.be/75DJb2A_gTA

Part 2:
https://youtu.be/PboiyihrUZE

Sounds like he's been identified through his personal youtube channel/video. The one I saw was poignant and touching. I wish he'd been able to work through his feelings in some other way.

@22: Well, if not the TSA, and if not fighter jets, then I trust the good Lord will intervene.

@22

Sigh. I miss the Cold War. Back then we still had a chance.

You missed this one, Dan:

Rich: "Hey, do you think if I land this successfully, Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?"
Air Traffic Controller: "You know, I think they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off."
Rich: "Yeah, right! Nah, I'm a white guy."

https://twitter.com/jwsthomson/status/1028148043621625856

Those jets are so fast that it really is immaterial that they came from PDX. My brother who is an airline pilot told me last night that they traveled at double the speed of sound to get to the plane. Just a few minutes he said from PDX.

Sad. I listened to the audio leaks. Sounds like he just lost it and did something rash, then realized it up in the air that this was the end for him. Amazing that someone can lose their mind like that and still keep their senses about not wanting to harm others. I don't know if the suicide hotline would help in a case like this, but by all means share that number for others. To me, he sounds manic.

I've dealt with that controller many times. Total pro. He did a great job in an impossible situation.

"Working for minimum wage can drive people crazy."

I blame the avocado toast he ate.

Shitty situation all around, and condolences to all affected, but I'm glad he got the whole murder-suicide thing in the correct order.

@33: You're neither clever nor funny. Run along, now.

" I hope he is ok but this system is kill nuts to ordinary people."

Then why does Denmark have a higher suicide rate?

@35--Please post your source. From Wikipedia, the US suicide rate is considerably higher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

@36 - I don't know from sources and rates but is that the first reaction to have to this word salad: " I hope he is ok but this system is kill nuts to ordinary people." ??? Those are the whisperings of a madwoman.

What a sad story, for all concerned. RIP

@30 if that dude wanted to fly into the Seattle Skyline from SeaTac no F-15 from PDX could’ve stopped him.

@36: The source is rotten.

It's just so tragic. I feel terrible for the air traffic controller. He tried so hard and he couldn't save him.

@36

"Denmark’s average suicide rate over the last five decades is indeed about 20 people per 100,000. The average U.S. suicide rate in that timeframe is 11.5 people per 100,000."

Source: The World Health Organization

Always best to do averages over longer times periods wouldn't you say otherwise your numbers look more like anecdotes.

Oh, a link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367275/

Fighters can also keep a good visual on the subject and report back in a way that ground assets can't.

Sad.

Sounds like a pretty cool guy from the audio. Too bad he went this route.

It's funny that he mentioned that he was a white guy, as if his whiteness were part of the problem. What he failed to focus on, which was part of the problem, was his male-ness. I'm sure there were plenty of clues about this guy, in retrospect. But he's a disposable low wage blue collar worker, why would anyone care enough to delve in?

You guys see the barrel roll? Shit was tight. Went out like a boss.

You mean I would actually have to go into a store? No thank you.

Sorry message above intended for another article.

He seems to have been in a manic state.

@46: Disposable low wage? He had a security clearance that took ten years to get, and this apparently was his YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/rL4VyM7HYJ8

Looks like he liked his job and should have been making more than at McDonald's in Sea-Tac.

Am I the only one who thinks this guy was a manipulate asshole, playing up an aww shucks narrative for future posterity and possible court dates while stealing a multi-million dollar asset to do something insanely dangerous? This is not the movies - It's a fucking miracle he didn't kill innocent people by flying a massive passenger jet untrained over a densely populated area. People live on the island he plowed into. You go there and set off a massive bomb that starts a forest fire and let's see if you too are an instant folk hero. Fuck this antisocial narcissist, thankful he only killed himself.

@52: Absolutely Clara! All that is definitely true. It's also true it's very sad and tragic, but he should not become a folk hero.

Suicide is the ultimate selfish act, leaving family and loved ones into perpetual haunting grief and depriving society of a productive citizen.

Suicide is the act of someone in extreme pain, and yes those left behind have to feel their grief.

@22 Air Force and navy jets probably could have gotten there faster but, and this is a big but, they could not legally do anything at all. If it had been a terroristic attack they could have had fun blasting him out of the sky but since it was merely a stolen plane they would have been required to simply watch. The Posse Commutitas (sp?) Act absolutely forbids the US military from doing anything like police work inside the borders of the US without authorization from the state involved AND the US government. Remember Katrina when the Marines stood around while looting happened due to the Governor refusing to give them police powers. The looters were smarter than she was and simply didn't do anything that could have been construed as attacking the Marines.Since the National Guard is not covered by that act they can do police style work and so was sent out.

He apparently could have well been suffering from manic depression so we can feel compassion for him. If he’s considered a folk hero that’s out of your power.

@37 Thank you for the compliment.

34/spunkbutter: "Shitty situation all around, and condolences to all affected, but I'm glad he got the whole murder-suicide thing in the correct order."

A classic David Schmader plea in his former Last Days column: "Last Days apologizes for repeating ourselves, but as we head into what's sure to be a dark and challenging era, remember: If you're considering a murder-suicide, do the suicide part first."

https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/last-days/Content?oid=697833

I remember two infamous suicides-by-plane: EgyptAir Flight 990, in which the pilot killed all 217 people (203 passengers, 14 crew) on board and Germanwings Flight 9525, in which the co-pilot killed all 150 people (144 passengers, 6 crew) on board.

It's very unfortunate when anyone feels such hopelessness and despair that they see taking their life as the only solution to the pain. But you wonder what causes some people, like that pilot and co-pilot, to be such outliers, willing to slaughter hundreds of innocent people along with themselves.

@57

I'm guessing that when people are depressed enough to be suicidal if they're not really thinking clearly to understand the gravity of having passengers come along with them.

@57 Roma,
Indeed, over the weekend I recalled this notorious incident from 87':

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Southwest_Airlines_Flight_1771

David Burke, a disgruntled employee of the carrier he formerly was employed with evidently shot the pilots of flight 1771 and the plane plummeted and crashed killing all on board including his boss.

I couldn't agree with you more Roma. The "slaughter hundreds of innocent people along with themselves." scenario is most confounding. Regarding Russell, I'll give him just that. While what I think was wrong, at least he was on his own. I just hope a cult doesn't develop around this guy a la D. B. Cooper.

I think that those high school shootings along with other mass shootings such as the Las Vegas hotel and others are forms of murder suicide. Even the Denver theater incident where the shooter was captured. The shooter is seeking social revenge and when combined with self hatred makes for a very bad situation. It is desperation taken to an extreme.

@52 and @53 Your comments make no sense. A manipulative asshole would have preplanned this and would have known how to handle the plane most likely (for sure know how to land it) and certainly not put himself in danger knowingly. It appears that he was suffering from a bipolar condition otherwise known as manic depression. Definitely having a mental breakdown. Lets show some respect for the dead and not be so damn mean please.

@61: Of course, what you are saying and what we are saying are not mutually exclusive. He obviously and admittedly was suffering mentally. That still doesn't negate the crime and peril he caused.

In addition, although I said suicide is selfish - I fully realize that those in that state (and haven't we been on that trajectory in our own dark times) are in such pain that such awareness is already far gone.

@61 - Jeez. I can't get this song out of my head whenever I see your avi. https://youtu.be/wDTHHzxjWjk

Apologies that should say @62.

He shoulda pulled a DB Cooper before crashing

A turbo prop can do a barrel roll. That's good to know..I suppose

@27: Dark, and accurate.

@60: Absolutely they are; the perpetraitors frequently beg the police to kill them, which happens surprisingly rarely when they're White. At this point, I mostly think, "Play shitty games, win shitty prizes," with our shitty game being the exploitative, hierarchical society we've built, plus so unnecessarily many people that the law of large numbers comes into play and human actions with very low probabilities do actually occur on occasion at their predicted rates.

@46: Yup, low-wage, maniac women are far, far less likely to pull shit like this.

@55 "If it had been a terroristic attack". "Not a terrorist attack" = "dude was white", "nothing could have prevented this", and "thoughts & prayers". I agree, he didn't have terrorism as a motive, but if he'd said the same things over the radio in Arabic, I'm sure they would have waited only until he was over water and then splashed him.

@57 there was also Federal Express Flight 705 in 1994 in which a FedEx employee facing dismissal attempted to murder the flight crew and planned to crash the plane. Except for a last-minute crew change of a large male co-pilot for a small woman (which was part of his planning), he probably would have succeeded. It mucked up the flight privileges freight airline employees used to have, and screwed up options for Alaskans to get to more places (lots of cargo 747s land in ANC to refuel and swap cargo and they used to offer passenger fares in the former first-class section above the cargo bays to lots of destinations in Asia and Europe).

You all know commercial planes don't lock? And that all manner of ground crew, caterers, and cleaners routinely access the plane? This guy knew how to use the ground tug to turn the plane around, but he also could have just used beta settings for reverse thrust to back up.

I fly a lot and I'm not looking forward to the changes DHS-TSA will implement to, once again, create the illusion that they are preventing the last kind of incident.