Who Is The 'Sky King' Richard Russell And How Did He Earn His Title?

In 2018, a Horizon Air employee, Richard Russell, stole a plane with no prior flying experience, making international headlines. The incident resulted in Russell losing his life when he crashed on Ketron Island in Puget Sound, but people on sites like 4chan refused to let his story end there. They deemed Russell the Sky King inspiring an outpouring of memes in his memorial and a possible copycat this September. Here's the full story.

Where Did The Title "Sky King" Come From?

On August 10th, 2018, a service agent for Horizon Air named Richard "Beebo" Russell used his position to steal a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 airliner from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Videos of the plane being followed by two F-15 fighter jets started going viral online as the story broke. The media also started sharing audio clips of ongoing conversations between Russell and an air traffic controller.

In the audio clips, Russell calls himself "broken" and says he knows how to fly a little bit thanks to video games. His conversation and tone is very casual. He jokes around with the air traffic controller as he tries to explain to Russell how to land the plane, although as the conversation goes on that doesn't seem to be his intention, even saying, "I wasn't really planning on landing it." At one point, the controller suggests he might be able to get a job as a pilot after this and Russell replies, "Nah, I'm a white guy." At another point, he says he's going to try to "do a barrel roll." The incident came to a tragic end when Russell intentionally crashed the plane into Ketron Island in Puget Sound, killing him.

As users on Twitter and 4chan shared and discussed the story and further learned about Russell through the conversations with air traffic control and subsequent articles about his life, they deemed him "Sky King" as a title of respect. Many saw Russell as a man suffering from depression and sympathized with him. Others saw his opinions on certain topics as based. They turned him into a hero with the name, and with it came a lot of memes.

How Is "Sky King" Used In Memes?

Memes about Sky King spread across the internet after the incident. The majority of the memes are in celebration and memorial of Russell, while others are more trollish shitposts. Among the memes are images of Wojaks veering off into the sunset alongside quotes from Russell, a selfie of Russell sitting in the cockpit of the plane and video edits using audio clips from the conversation between Russell and the air traffic controller mixed with sad music and effects to emphasize the tragedy behind the event.

Who Is Cory Wayne Patterson AKA "Sky King 2?"

On September 3rd, CNN reported that an airport worker named Cory Wayne Patterson had stolen a twin-engine plane from Tupelo Aviation and was threatening to crash it into a Mississippi Walmart. Footage of Patterson flying the plane went viral on social media and people quickly started comparing it to the 2018 Sky King incident. Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing in a field where he was arrested.

SKY KING 2: RETURN OF THE SKY KING https://t.co/2Uk1sA2oXQ

— TS (@Griffith_Irl) September 5, 2022

For the full details on "Sky King" meme and viral story, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.