‘Broken Man’ Who Stole an Airplane: Inside the ‘#SKYKING’ Tragedy

New documentary uses previously unreleased audio and emotional family interviews to explore the mental health crisis that led to hijacking in 2018.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, April 20, 2026 at 03:05 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A new documentary, "#SKYKING," examines the 2018 incident where Horizon Air ramp agent Richard Russell, with no pilot experience, stole a de Havilland Dash 8-400 from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, flew it for over an hour (performing a barrel roll), and intentionally crashed, dying on Ketron Island.
The film utilizes interviews with Russell's family and friends, along with previously unreleased air traffic control audio, to delve into his deteriorating mental state and the personal and professional frustrations that may have led to his actions.
Russell's family criticizes his popular portrayal as a "folk hero" and "Sky King" through viral memes, arguing it politicizes his story and misrepresents the underlying mental health struggles that culminated in the tragic event.

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On August 10, 2018, a ramp agent for Horizon Air at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA) who had zero pilot experience stole an empty de Havilland Dash 8-400 and took it for a one-hour-and-15-minute joy ride around southwestern Washington state.

All the while he talked with an air traffic controller (ATC) and an experienced Q400 pilot, both of whom tried to get him to land the aircraft. Instead, the pilot, 29-year-old Richard “Beebo” Russell, performed a barrel roll then ended the flight with an intentional crash on a sparsely populated, heavily forested island west of Tacoma.