""I did kind of a bad thing," Russell says in the recordings. When a controller asks if he is hijacking the plane, Russell replies, "Uh, yeah..I'm afraid I did.""
"The stakes of that afternoon are laid out in the film's trailer, where a woman's voice is heard saying, "The only way out where nobody dies is if he lands the plane successfully.""
"Despite the gravity of the situation, the audio captures Russell's detachment as he asks air traffic control, "You think this thing can do a barrel roll?""
"In the trailer's final moments, the audio reveals Russell grappling with the weight of his choices. "I got a lot of people that care about me. It's gonna disappoint them," Russell said, later adding, "This is probably, uh... jail time for life, huh?""
Richard Russell, a 28-year-old ground service agent, hijacked a Horizon Air Q400 turboprop in 2018, performing a barrel roll over Puget Sound. The documentary '#SkyKing' premieres on April 14 and features family interviews and air traffic control audio. Russell's actions, which ended in his death, are examined through the perspectives of those who knew him. The film captures his detachment during the incident and his reflections on the consequences of his actions, ultimately concluding the event as a suicide.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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