The Internet's Favorite Hijacker: The Tragic Tale of Sky King

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“I’m sorry about this, I hope it doesn’t ruin your day” spoken as a man who knows he’s about to take his own life is so unimaginably sad. RIP Richard Russel.

His words "Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose" still haunt me.

The fact that he was able to pull off the barrel roll without crashing or having the plane disintegrate is absolutely mind blowing

You forgot to mention that the Orca was carrying her dead baby for 17 days grieving. The day after Beebo "wanted to see them guys" she moved on from her deceased baby. Gives me chills

"Yknow i was kinda hoping that was gonna be the end of it yknow" bro didnt even plan on finishing the barrel roll.

23:35 Where he says "Damn it Andrew - People's lives are at stake here!" I dont think he was actually upset or in an unstable state of mind (at least in terms of the situation already). I think he was making a joke about how dramatic the situation is, like it was a character in an action movie yelling over the radio. Throughout almost the entire conversation he says tongue-in-cheek comments and jokes. In fact, immediately after saying this in a dramatic "action movie" voice, he completely switches back to his joking lighthearted voice and jokes about the air traffic controller "whispering sweet nothings in [his] ear".

I'm not sure what's more sad; Richard's story, or the fact that without asking a single question, every one understood.

Beebo was a personal friend of mine during his time in Oregon, and I always had a lot of respect for him. When this happened, it just felt so different from the way I remembered him just a few years before, but I also could hear flashes of the personality I remembered in a way. As an avid flight simmer, I was doing a sim flight from Portland up to Orcas Island a few years after this happened, not even thinking about what happened with him (I mean, it legit wasn't even on my mind when I took off), but then when I got to the part where I was sim-flying up the coast of Puget Sound I looked around and saw the mountains he talked about, and it hit me... Granted, I was only seeing the FSX representation of the mountains rather than the real-life ones, but that still hit me pretty hard. It's true what they say, that you never know when grief will hit you or what will bring it up in your mind.

I can confirm, I was glad you mentioned the two fighter jets were F-15 Eagles.

"Im sorry. I hope I didn't ruin your day." I've said that before. Right after bindge, drinking myself at a bar, I passed out in the bathroom, and the bouncer had to come get me. Lost a buddy of mine to suicide a week before probably the lowest I have ever been. The bouncer took me aside and just talked to me for a while. I told him about my buddy, what he did in the military, how close I was, and the loss, and he just listened. I haven't ever done that since, and honestly, my heart still twitches a bit when i hear someone say that, and I try to do the same for them that one bouncer did for me that night. Just listen, it's all someone needs sometimes.

I think Sky King's story resonates with a lot of people because most people hate what they do and wish that they could do and be more than what they are. And in his last moments, Sky King became more than just an airport employee.

I work at SeaTac today with Alaska Airlines in a similar position to Richard as part of the ground crew, though I joined a couple years later. He’s still talked about in the company, but typically with a great deal of reverence and sympathy. People really seem to miss him. Rest in Peace dude.

My father took his life with his plane. In November 1995, David Burley took up his cesna and brought it down outside of wadsworth, OH. The impact of Richard Russel's story is not to be understated. My father dealt with many psychological issues, as did Richard. He was just a broken guy with a few screws loose. Thank you, Isaiah for covering this. Fly high, Sky King.

RIP Skyking. He could have done so much damage, but he chose to do a loop. Fly high brother.

This story reminds me of the study that was done with people who survived their attempts on the Golden Gate Bridge. They all said that about halfway down, they realized their problems had solutions, and they did not want to die. It sounds like when the adrenaline wore off, Richard had that “halfway point” where he realized that he had people who loved him, would miss him, and he didn’t want it to end like this. But, tragically, he must have felt that he was committed and couldn’t get out. Such a sad story, but covered professionally and sensitively. Thank you ❤

I was suicidal when Richard took his last flight. He pulled off a barrel roll on his first flight ever, then after that magnificent feat, he still chose to end it. I haven't done anything as noteworthy or remarkable as that, but I chose to live and I'm still here. I'm content with my life now. I was stubborn enough to give it a chance and I'm glad I did, and I wish Richard had tried to give things a chance.

he's like an older brother who doesn't talk to his younger siblings often but whenever he does it's always about obscure thing that you probably haven't heard of edit: for clarification i'm talking abt wendigoon not the guy the video is about🙃

what freaked me out the most was when he said "I've got to stop looking at the fuel because it's going down quick." the fuel being basically the ticking clock counting down his life. must have been a frightening realisation.

Man the fighter pilot guys just going "badass" too his barrel roll had me in such a series of emotions. Badass barrel roll dude. Fly high sky king.