Two men over the past few days took their own lives by using airplanes as instruments of their own deaths. Last Friday, a Horizon Air employee stole a Bombardier Q400 turboprop from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and took it on an hour-long joyride that included aerobatics before crashing the airplane on Kentron Island in Puget Sound. Horizon Air is owned by Alaska Airlines. Early Monday morning a man in Utah stole a Citation CJ from Spanish Fork Airport (SPK) and crashed it into his own home located near Payson. While the pilot died, no one on the ground was injured.
Two Suicides by Airplane in Four Days
Key Takeaways:
- Two recent, separate incidents involved men stealing airplanes to commit suicide: one in Seattle by an airline ground service agent and another in Utah by an experienced pilot.
- In Seattle, Richard Russell, an unlicensed Horizon Air employee, stole a Bombardier Q400 from Sea-Tac, flew it erratically, and crashed it into Puget Sound.
- In Utah, Duane Youd, an experienced pilot, stole a Cessna Citation CJ and crashed it into his own home shortly after being released from jail for domestic violence.
- Psychologists expressed concern that the Utah incident might be a copycat event of the Seattle crash and warned of potential future similar occurrences.
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