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i wouldn't know how to land it i wasn't really planning on landing it. sweet nothings Sorry, my mic came off, I threw up a little bit. I'm sorry about this, I hope this doesn't ruin your day. Damnit Andrew, people's lives are at stake here. So if you want to try to land, that's the way to go Hey, I want the coordinates of that orca; you know into my ear.

Sky King / Richard Russell

Updated Sep 09, 2022 at 03:06PM EDT by Phillip Hamilton.

Added Aug 13, 2018 at 11:07AM EDT by Don.

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

About

"Sky King" is a nickname given to 29-year-old ground service operator Richard Russell after he stole a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 airliner from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) and died after crashing on Ketron Island in Puget Sound. The incident spawned numerous image macros, photoshops and fan arts on 4chan and other online communities.

Origin

On August 10th, 2018, Russell stole the airliner from a maintenance position at the Sea-Tac airport. After attempting the aircraft took off, two F-15 fighter jets were deployed.

That day, Boston Globe journalist Matt Karolian tweeted a link to the Sea-Tac air traffic control broadcast, followed by an announcement that Russell revealed he would attempt a barrel roll maneuver (shown below).


Matt Karolian @mkarolian He just said he is going to try to do a barrel roll

After performing the stunt, along with other maneuvers, the plane crashed on Ketron Island in the Puget Sound. Russell, the sole occupant of the aircraft, perished in the crash.

On August 11th, 2018, a post about the plane crash was submitted to 4chan's /pol/ board,[1] where an anonymous user replied "Sky King?" (shown below).[9]

Spread

On August 11th, 2018, journalist Jimmy Tomson tweeted out a series of audio clips in which Russell can be heard talking to an air traffic controller (shown below).[3]



Footage of Russell performing the barrel roll was captured on video by Facebook[2] user John Waldron. The video was widely circulated online and by major news publications (shown below).




On 4chan,[7][8] threads dedicated to Russell were submitted over the next several days, many of which contained photoshops, image macros and fan arts praising the incident and referring to Russell as "Sky King" (shown below).


N ERRY BRUCKHEIMER PROOUCT ICHIRUSSE KELLY MCGILLIS PG PARAMOUNT PICTURES PRESENTS A DON SIMPSON AERRY BRUCKHEIMER PRODUCTION A TONY SCOIT FLM TOM CRUSE TOP GUN KELY McGILLIS VAL KILMER ANTHONY EDWARDS TOM SKEARITT MUSIC SCORE BY HAROLD FALTERMEYER WRITEN BY JIM CASH&JACK EPPS JR PRODUCED BY DON SIMPSON AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER DIRECTED BY TONY SCOTT A PARAMOUNT PICTURE ORGNAL MUTION PICURE SOUNOTRACK ALBUM AVAILABLE ON CBS RECORS CASSETES AND COIMPACT DSIS Dd CoLR READ THE PAPERBACK Just fying around the plane, you sem comfortable with that?" Oh ell yah,i's a bls.l've played ideo games before s0, uh, you know, Iknow what I'm doing alte bt.' Okay, and you canseall he erran around you ou'vegot no issue with visibility or anything? Naw, everything's peachy,Peachy cean. Just did a litle ircle around Rainier,its beautful. thinkl've got some gas togo check out the Olympics. 1 wouldn't know how to land it Iwasn't rely planning on landing it sweet nothingss Sorry, my mic came off, I threw up a little bit. I'm sorry about this, I hope this doesn't ruin your day." "Damnit Andrew, people's lives are at stake here." Ah Rich, don't say stuff like that." T don't want to hurt no one. ljust We job doing anything if you could pull this off "Yeah right!... Nah,I'm a white guy." . "You know, I think they would give you a w So if you want to try to land, that's the way to go. Yr job ad this s "Hey, want the coordinates of that orca; you know, the mama orca with the baby, Iwant to go seethat gu Well ich already talked to'em, ust lil me, what we Ahs doon want you to whisper swet nothins want to se ts you ro get hurt or anyone else get un. into my ear. a bro

Meanwhile, various tributes to Russell were uploaded to YouTube (shown below). In the coming days, articles about the incident were published in The New York Times,[4] CBS News[6] and The Washington Post.[5]



Sky King 2 / Cory Wayne Patterson

On September 3rd, 2022, it was reported that a 10-year Tupelo Aviation employee, Cory Wayne Patterson, stole a twin-engine plane from the Tupelo Regional Airport.[10] According to reports, Patterson called 911 from the plane and threatened to crash it into a Mississippi Walmart. Tulepo Police Chief John Quaka told CNN that Patterson had "some flight instruction" but was still in training. As part of his job, Patterson was responsible for fuelling the aircraft. On that day, Twitter[11] user @CityKing_Gank_ posted a clip of Patterson flying the plane over his town, garnering over 17,000 likes and 4,000 retweets in six days (shown below). Many people online compared the incident to 2018's incident with Richard Russell, calling Patterson "Sky King 2.0" or "Sky King 2."


Patterson did not end up flying the plane into Walmart, instead landing it in a nearby field where he was arrested. Hours prior, he posted a message on Facebook that seemed to imply he was going to commit suicide, writing, "Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn't your fault. Goodbye" (shown below, left).[12] His flight pattern was also shared online, with Twitter[13] user @RMaons writing, "SKY KING 2.0 ON FLIGHT RADAR, AIRCRAFT IS CALLED KING AIR LOOOL" (shown below, right). The day of the incident, a thread on 4chan's /pol/[14] board about the incident gained over 470 posts.


Cory Patterson 34m Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn't your fault. Goodbye 2.8K Like View previous comments Comment Evan Foster If you land you are going to jail. Like Reply 1m 3.9K Comments 4.8K Shares Share Most relevant Jeff Duke Hey man I don't know you and don't know if you're reading this but I do know what you're going through. Message me if you want and I'll send you my number. Like Reply 1m ... Amberly Cooper Mason A permanent solution to a temporary problem..... it's not too late to get help..... Like Reply 1m Liam Douglas Drew Clark Like Reply 1m Cayla Sloan Foley "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 ESV Like Reply 1m ly Springs onal Forest tts Camp lehem 30 Hickory Flat Cornersville Ashland 349 355 Lafayette Springs Thaxton Toccopola Google Hill N342ER Private owner N/A Hurricane Myrtle Randolph Departed 00:44 ago Beech C90A King Air Gravestown Hebron flightradar24 370 Falkner Blue Mountain New Albany 15 Ingomar Ecru Friendship 341 Ripley Algoma Tiplersville Pontotoc 22 N/A Mitchell Chiwapa Dumas Blue Springs Endville Alpine 348 Sherman 278 Chesterville β’ΈFlightradar24 CALIBRATED ALT. 361 m GROUND SPEED 317 km/h REG: N342ER

Search Interest

External References

[1] 4plebs – Politically Incorrect

[2] Facebook – John Waldron

[3] Twitter – @jwsthomson

[4] The New York Times – Richard Russell Who Stole Plane Near Seattle Raises Troubling Security Questions

[5] The Washington Post – Richard Russell Details emerge of a compassionate man after Seattle plane heist and fiery crash

[6] CBS News – Richard Russell pilot of stolen Horizon Air plane had lighthearted tone before deadly crash

[7] 4plebs – /pol/ thread

[8] 4plebs – /pol/ thread

[9] 4plebs – /pol/ thread

[10] CNN – Pilot arrested after threatening to crash plane into Mississippi Walmart and eventually landing in a field, police say

[11] Twitter – CityKing_Gank_

[12] Twitter – williams_paige

[13] Twitter – RMaons

[14] 4chan – Pilot threatening to crash hijacked plane into Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi

Recent Videos 7 total

 

Recent Images 24 total


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Master Pain
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Master Pain

I think it's interesting that people are honoring Russell and finding beauty in his actions.
He hijacked a plane containing no other people, flew it around solely for his own pleasure, and cared more about that joy in flying than his own survival or the inconvenience caused to others.
I imagine there's an inner desire to self-destruct present in people, especially those on 4chan and /pol/, that causes them to identify with Russel and his "Peaceful hijacking" of a plane (As bizarre of an oxymoron as that is). To them, it's an elegant way to go out, or rather, a more interesting way to kill oneself.
I hope the people who feel this way can identify the beauty in life and get over their desire to end it.

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