"beebo," his family called him, describing richard russell as a warm and compassionate man.voice of richardrussell: "i've got a lot of people that care about me, and uhh... it's gonna disappoint them to hear that i did this."before pulling off an aerial stunt and after gently refusing air traffic control's attempts to convince him to land the stolen plane safely, russell apologized to the people he thought he was disappointing.voice of richard russell: "just a broken guy. got a few screws loose, i guess. never really knew it, until now."the n-t-s-b said sunday the crash took russell through several lines of 100-foot-high trees.crews recovered the flight data recorder over the weekend; the n-t-s-b expects it to arrive in washington, d-c, on tuesday for analysis.russell posted a video on youtube last year about his job working as a ground service agent for horizon air. officials say it's that job that enabled him to tow the plane out of a maintenance area and take off -- without authorization -- from seattle-tacoma international airport on friday.the pierce county sheriff's department describ

video showing that airplane in the air after it was stolen shows some impressive air work by richard russellhere he was flying an empty 76 seat passenger plane. now during the back and forth between russell and air traffic control he claimed that he played video games so he knew what he was doing. i asked zwingle what his thought on that was.well that's a heck of a video game and i've got to get it. i think there's got to be more to it than that. there's gotta be some type of detailed training that he not necessarily took but he studied something i don't think you're going to get the ability to fly like he did off a video game but i could be mistaken.i also spoke with zwingle about some of the security features on board that type of aircraft. we'll talk about that tonight at 10. live at sfo, j.r. stone kron 4 news. (grant) breaking news we're following tonight... fire crews are mourning the loss of one of their own... after a firefighter was killed battling california's largest fire in history... the mendocino complex fire. the identity of the firefighter has not been released...we'll learn

"beebo," his family called him, describing richard russell as a warm and compassionate man.voice of richard "i've got a lot of people that care about me, and uhh... it's gonna disappoint them to hear that i did this."before pulling off an aerial stunt and after gently refusing air traffic control's attempts to convince him to land the stolen plane safely, russell apologized to the people he thought he was disappointing.voice of richard russell: "just a broken guy. got a few screws loose, i guess. never really knew it, until now."the n-t-s-b said sunday the crash took russell through several lines of 100-foot-high trees.crews recovered the flight data recorder over the weekend; the n-t-s-b expects it to arrive in washington, d-c, on tuesday for analysis.russell posted a video on youtube last year about his job working as a ground service agent for horizon air. officials say it's that job that enabled him to tow the plane out of a maintenance area and take off -- without authorization -- from seattle-tacoma international airport on friday.the pierce county sheriff's department described russe

we are beginning to get a clearer picture of what richard russell was like as a friend, as a coworkeras an employee. i spoke to jeremy kaelin who worked closely alongside russell for eight solid months. they worked the p.m. shift together. he says this is somebody who had a lot of integrity, somebody who worked really hard, and somebody who also had a great sense of humor. he is also not surprised that russell was able to learn some basic aspects of aviation, given certain aspects of his job. take a look. when you learned it was your friend and corporaler coworker, what did you think? >> he was super funny and always go out and help others to his flights that he wasn't assigned to help out with and when he was working with you on your flight, he will world as hard as he could. >> you saw the home video of him doing those maneuvers. >> yes. >> reporter: he seemed like, to a certain degree, he knew what he was doing as a pilot or behind the controls. >> yeah. well, you can learn how to fly with flight simulators if you buy them. you can literally run them on your pc, mac, whatever. also

we now know the deceased suspect, richard russell, was "tow certified" -- had full security access and had been with the company for three and a half years. demarco, russell has no known pilot license but did back the plane out and turn it 180 degrees before getting into the cockpit to take off. >> morgan: both fascinating and disturbing. jamie thank you for that report. three of the largest wildfires in california history are still burning tonight. they have burned more than half a million acres. farther south, what officials call the "holy fire" is threatening thousands of homes. jonathan vigliotti is there. >> reporter: a break in the weather is giving firefighters relief for the first time in 6 days. low winds - and dipping temperatures held back most of the holy fire's fury. yesterday the blaze moved in neighborhoods doublings in just 24 hours. >> it seems as soon as one fire is put out, another one starts right back up. this one being carried by the wind over this highway and up into this mountain. this area is so bone dry firefighters worry it could explode like a powder keg. >>

as he was flying a stolen plane, richard russell calls himself a broken guy. >> richard russell took off from the seattle airport in the empty plane and crashed it an hour later. >> this is a complete shock to us. we are divested by these events. juic jesus is the only one holding this family together. the voice recording shows his attempt was not to harm anyone and he is right in saying so many people who loved him. >> we are learning about his training on the ground where he was authorized to tote planes to the gate but they do not believe he had a pilot's license. >> the criminal investigation begins, officials are working to recover the plane's data recordings and russell's remains. airport security "sportscenter" point out numerous flaws in the system revealed by this incident. cnn court dan simon is live with one of russell's former coworkers. the family is shocked and stunned and heartbroken. did this coworker see any potential signs? >> well, gm. we are getting a clearer sense of what richard russell was like as a friend, as an employee, as a coworker and some of what you're

richard b. russell. coming up next.r insurance rates skyrocket after a scratch so small you could fix it with a pen. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ billions of problems. sore gums? bleeding gums? painful flossing? there's a therabreath for you. therabreath healthy gums oral rinse fights gingivitis and plaque and prevents gum disease for 24 hours. so you can... breathe easy, there's therabreath at walmart. ♪ ♪ our new, hot, fresh breakfast will get you the readiest. (buzzer sound) holiday inn express. be the readiest. ♪ >>> a number of lawmakers are pushing to rename a federal building after senator john mccain, building up on capitol hill, at least two republican senators are coming out against this idea. alabama senator shelby

richard russell — an employee with the ground staff — performed aerobatic manouevres before crashingorts. this is the man thought to have stolen a passenger jet from seattle airport on friday. a member of the public recorded the plane as it performed erratic manoeuvres across the evening skyline, forcing the airport‘s closure. soon after, two fighterjets escorted the plane out of harm‘s way, but according to authorities, they were not instrumental in bringing it down. a family friend described richard russell, whose nickname was beebo, as a family man, and spoke of their shock. on behalf of the family, we are stunned and heartbroken. it may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but beebo was a warm, compassionate man. it is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. he was a faithful husband, a loving son, and a good friend. a childhood friend remarked that beebo was loved by everyone because he was kind and gentle to each person he met. this is a complete shock to us. we are devastated by these events. the fbi say they are working alongside agents from th

(pam) 29- year old richard russell took the turboprop airliner from sea=tac airport near seattle, putt through acrobatic loops... before crashing into a wooded island 30- miles away.(ken) russell died in the crash. officials say he managed to evade strict security measures. security protocols were handled securely at the airport /// it was an aberration.that aberration allowed russell ... a ground worker handling baggage ... to climb into the cockpit of a 76=passenger airliner, flip all the right switches to start the engines, taxi onto the runway and take off.... all air traffic controllers could do is keep other planes out of his way. "there's a ground stop no one is departing right now.//they are working out an issue close to our air space."jet natthe oregon air national guard scrambled a pair of f-15 fighters to monitor russell as he threw the plane into acrobatic loops and rolls. "hey, pilot guy! can this thing do a back-flip you think?" /// think i'm going to try and do a barrel roll. and if that goes good, i think i'm going to

the investigation shifting to 29-year-old richard russell. what was happening with the three and a half year horizon air employee. he had security clearance to be there as a grounds worker. he appeared happy at work. he posted video blogs of how many he enjoyed his -- how much he enjoyed his job. he was happily married according to his family. for them and the friends he had to hear the conversations he had with air traffic control. it is simply heartbreaking. >> it may seem difficult for those watching as home to believe, but beebo was a warm and compassionate man. as the recording shows, beebo's passion was not to harm anyone. >> reporter: before giving the stap statement, the family said a prayer. they said it is the farth thith is helping them. christine and dave. >> kyung lah. thank you. >>> baltimore police say an officer caught on video beating a man video from saturday is disturbing. you see him pummeling him before pinning him to the ground with an arm across his neck. this started when the officers approached him to speak to him. of

>> r before richard russell made it into the sky in a horizon air dash 8, investigators want tw how he made it across a crowded tarmac onto a runway at seattle c tack aport. >>> causing confusion in the control tower, and a call to t military. with a pair of f-15s on his tail, rsell stayed airborne for more than an hour before dying in a faiiery crash. thousands of ramp workers and mechanics have the sameroad access russell had. >> for me the biggest red flag is that this is something that aviation security is not designed to prevent. >> reporter: making an insidern attackf the biggest potential threats to commercial aviation.te >> we're fortun the sense that it wasn't a terrorist, somebody who was focused on causin mass destruction. what this incident did was demonstrat a vulnerability that is still existing here almost 17 years after 9/11. >> reporter: as investigators work to determine if tighter security could have prevented russell's flight, a video he made revealed a man who enjoys his work. >> look at all them bags. ooh, a purple one. >> reporter: and loved to travel. ies final

>> reporter: phillip, we're learning more about the life and passions of richard russell and how many friends he had, at the same time investigators are still trying to determine how he crossed a busy tarmac and made it all the way onto runway 16 c before taking off. >> oh, my god. what is happening right now? >> reporter: before richard russell made it into the sky in a horizon air dash 8, investigators want to know how he made it across a crowded tarmac onto a runway at seattle c tack airport. >>> causing confusion in the control tower, and a call to the military. with a pair of f-15s on his tail, russell stayed airborne for more than an hour before dying in a faiiery crash. thousands of ramp workers and mechanics have the same broad access russell had. >> for me the biggest red flag is that this is something that aviation security is not designed to prevent. >> reporter: making an insider attack one of the biggest potential threats to commercial aviation. >> we're fortunate in the sense that it wasn't a terrorist, somebody who was focused on causing mass destruction. what this inci

richard russell. the man who stole a commercial plane from the seattle tacoma international airport. in zwingle's 40 plus year career of flying commercial and military jets he hasn't seen a commercial plane stolen like this.sot commercial no military yes it's happened. this is what the aircraft that was stolen looked like. a twin engine turboprop airplane that could seat 76 passengers. one owned by horizon air and operated by alaska airlines. zwingle says there are security features in this plane.sot it's been said that aircraft doesn't have a locking door but it does...... as to how russell learned to fly like he did it is unclear. in a conversation with an air traffic controller he claimed that he played video gameswell that's a heck of a video game and i've got to get it. i think there's got to be more to it than that. there's gotta be some type of detailed training that he not necessarily took but he studied something i don't think you're going to get the ability to fly like he did off a video gam

we now know the suspect, richard russell, was certified. he had full security access and was with the company for 3 1/2 years. he has no known pilots license but was able to back out the plane, t > back in the bay area, a daily city apartment building went up in flames. people at the scene synthesis video. you can see smoke billowing out of that apartment building. firefighters got the call just after 4:00. he was a large response, three alarms. >> huge flames i got my grandma out of that was that. so many flames, so high, just trying to get out of the house. >> there were no reports of injuries and is not clear how the fire started. >>> a deadly on-the-job accident at san francisco's twin peaks tunnel, a worker was hit by a steel beam while working on the muni project. his identity has not been released and i . but we have learned that he was employed by oakland bay construction . is still not clear what cause of the accident but work did resume last night after cal osha determent of the worksite is safe . >>> police are looking for a gun

empty commuter plane late friday from the seattle airport in washington has been identified as richard russell. that's him right there. his family says they are stunned and heartbroken. russell executed several aerial stunts as military jets flew nearby. he ran low on fuel and fatally crashed an hour later on a small island. >>> jordan has arrested five people after an explosion at a music festival killed a security officer on friday. the kingdom launched a raid on a terrorist cell it suspects was behind the attack. the suspects refused to surrender and opened fire at security forces. three police officers were killed during the raid. >>> just a couple hours ago nasa did this right here. it launched its first unmanned spacecraft to the sun. it's called the parker solar probe. and it will get closer to earth's own star than any human-made object until now. the probe's first close approach is set for november and it will back to earth in december.ta - >>> antiracism protests in charlottesville, virginia. they stayed peaceful on saturday one year after a far right rally that turned deadly there.

richard russell, an employee with the ground staff, performed aerobatic manouevres before crashing oned instantly. no one else was on board. jenny kumah reports. this is the man thought to have stolen a passenger jet from seattle airport on friday. a member of the public recorded the plane as it performed erratic manoeuvres across the evening skyline, forcing the airport's closure. we are trying to find a place for you to land safely. i am not ready to bring it downjust yet, but holy smokes, i have got its start taking ca re of smokes, i have got its start taking care of the field because it is coming down quick. 0k, start a left—hand turn and it will take you down to the south east, please. this is probablyjail time down to the south east, please. this is probably jail time for life? soon after, two fighterjets escorted the plane out of harm's way, but according to authorities, they were not instrumental in bringing it down. a family friend described richard russell, whose nickname was beebo, as a family man, and spoke of their shock. on behalf of the family, we are stunned and heart

investigators are trying to learn more about richard russell and how he was able to pull this off. the fbi says it recovered flight data recorder recovered from the plane stolen friday night. >> hey, pilot guy, can this thing do a back flip thing? >> officials want to know how and why richard "beebo" russell took a plane for a joy ride before crashing it on an island near seattle before killing himself. >> would call this a wakeup call for the airlines. >> captain ross aimer is a united airline pilot. he said there was nothing stopping him from getting to the plane as an employee. >> i was quite surprised that a person that claims to have had only background in video games was able to start this airplane, taxi it out, and actually take off and do those maneuvers. >> i think i'm going to try to do a barrel roll. >> robert reeves trained with russell. >> you don't get taught about how do the engines but you pick it up like how the buttons in the cockpit work. >> he spoke with russell on a regular basis. he added he was one of the hardest working employees there. now, anne-marie, avia

richard russell / ground service agent: "just a broken guy. a few screws loose."witnesses say the plane was flying erratically and believed it was a military exercise.brenda leech/witness: "we've never seen a plane that low over our deck before. how the hell did somebody get inside a plane at seatac airport. that's not ok." traveler: "i can not believe that really happened. no, impossible."the chase came to a fiery end when the plane nose-dived and crashed in a wooded area about 25 miles south of sea-tac. authorities believe the pilot was the only victim.debra eckrote, ntsb regional chief: "we're very lucky that it went on a very unpopulated island." investigators are now combing the wreckage.... looking for clues.the incident is raising a lot of security lt. colonel rick military analyst: what his he could have north and gone downtown have caused on the ground."hutcherson (justine) now to a (justine) reporting. (justine) now to a construction tragedy in san francisco.. where a worker died after a steel beam hit him.....while he was working on the twin peaks tunne

a sheriff described richard russell as suicidal. here's jamie. >> reporter: at the controls of this 75-minute unauthorized flight on a commercial airliner, richard russell who stole the plane friday. >> got a few screws loose. never knew it until now. >> object behalf of the family. we're tuned and heartbroken. >> reporter: as et he chris crossed city area to pay attention to his. >> these guys are gorgeous. >> i have been out there. it's always a nice drive. >> reporter: eyewitnesss saw the plane flying erratically and uncharacteristically low. two military fighter jets scramble to intercept it. the horizon air turbo prop is a 32-million air krft. the 6% plane. took off from they lost caught with him at 8:47 manslaughter. sea-tac delayed 75 flights, d diverted 9 flights. he was killed when it crashed. we came up by boat to see what the crash sight looks like, but it's so thick with forests you can't see from the water that a plane even went down here. >> the doors are not key like a car. >> reporter: executives struggle to explain

they named it after richard russell for a reason if you go back one of my favorite books of all time, it's about linda johnson and there's an entire chapter about the russell's of georgia in order to understand lyndon johnson yet to understand richard russell. over the years there's been things we know about richard russell and his views on race that might not comport to how we view things in canterbury society but it's unclear if this would get any traction but the building is important to john mccain. it's where his office is been for years where the armed services committee which he chaired is and there's a statue of richard russell there and i don't know but i'm not seeing them rename a full building like that. only three senate office buildings and that used to be the only one and then named the next one they built some years ago after dirksen and bill hart, the most minor one. not seen anything like that on capitol hill renamed but here in the past hour on capitol hill they lower the flags to half staff and we would expect the senate comes back in session on monday to have tribu

. >> reporter: government officials familiar with the investigation say 29-year-old richard russell was at the controls, taking off from sea-tac airport 8:00 p.m. last night. residents here were shocked by the turbo prop's aerial acrobatics. but russell seemed unfazed. >> he just needs some help controlling his aircraft. >> very good. nah, i mean, i don't need that much help. i've played video games before. >> reporter: the 76 seat turbo prop is owned by horizon air. the company said russell was 3 1/2 fence and so no security violations were committed. >> i've got a lot of people that care about me. and it's gonna disappoint them. to hear that i did this. i would like to apologize to each and every one of them. just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, i guess. >> reporter: he was followed by a pair of f-15s, scrambled from portland, oregon. the plane was running low on fuel. >> hey, you think if i land this successfully, alaska will give me a job as a pilot? >> reporter: the plane crashed on a small island about 30 miles from the airport. aviation experts say getting a large plane lik

richard russell, an employee with the ground staff, performed aerobatic manouevres before crashing onnd. it is thought he was killed instantly. no—one else was on board. jenny kumah reports. this is the man thought to have stolen a passengerjet from seattle airport on friday. a member of the public recorded the plane as it performed erratic manoeuvres across the evening skyline, forcing the airport's closure. soon after, two fighterjets escorted the plane out of harm's way, but according to authorities, were not instrumental in bringing it down. a family friend described richard russell, whose nickname was ‘beebo,’ as a family man, and spoke of their shock. on behalf of the family, we are stunned and heartbroken. it may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but beebo was a warm, compassionate man. it is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. he was a faithful husband, a loving son, and a good friend. a childhood friend remarked that beebo was loved by everyone, because he was kind and gentle to each person he met. this is a complete shock to us. we are

is named after richard russell, democratic senator from georgia, argued with the senate's most powerfulr a time he muscled through fdr's new deal, a staunch anti-communist, but he was also a segregationist to repeatedly filibuster civil rights revelations, even blocking bills banning lanterns. "we believe the system of segregation is a reason to preserve peace and harmony between the races." he may of been a democrat but senate democratic leader chuck schumer wants to strip his name off the building under you name it after republican: john mccain. >> it's only fitting that his name should enter any physical institution is assented, particularly one that houses the armed services committee. >> having a building named after him makes a lot of sense to me. >> not everyone is on board. >> this is a question of making sure that however john is honored, i don't want to establish a precedent that we can on honor someone in the future. >> instead of worrying what the name is, a bunch of things, let's be more like him. >> biggest entity majority senate majority leader mitch mcconnell wants a bip

. >> the fbi takes the lead in the investigation into how and why richard russell went on the joy ride. here is clayton sandell. >> reporter: we're learning more about the rogue pilot and his joyride in a stolen airliner. >> oh, my god, oh, my god. is he okay? >> reporter: his alarming aerobatics. no ordinary air show. >> holy [ bleep ], holy [ bleep ]. >> reporter: at the controls, 29-year-old richard russell, a member of the airlines' ground crew, commandeering the plane, surrounded by fighter jets ready to shoot him down as controllers tried to talk him down. >> all right, rich, let's try to land that plane safely. >> i don't want to. i was kind of hoping that was going to be it. >> reporter: the flight ended in a fiery crash. authorities say russell passed multiple background checks to work at horizon but did not have a pilot's license. >> commercial aircraft are complex machines, so i don't know how he achieved the experience that he did. >> reporter: russell was married, he worked for horizon three and a half years, posting about it on youtube. >> i'm a ground service agent. that

airport. 29-year-old richard russell flew a 76 seat aircraft above seattle for about an hour before crashingon friday evening. reporter jamie yuccas has the latest. handle baggage and cargo - ier turboprop airb >> reporter: witnesses on the ground didn't know what to think when i saw two f-15 fighter jets pursuing an air horizon passenger plane. >> all of a sudden, the plane was gone, the island shook, and i thought we had been bombed. >> reporter: investigators are trying to determine how and why richard russell, a nearly 4 year employee assigned to handle cargo managed to get the prop plane airborne. his conversation with air traffic control was captured on tape. >> just a broken guy who's got a few screws loose i guess. never really know it until now. >> reporter: the plane was parked at a seatac maintenance area, when investigators say russell used a towing tractor to tow the aircraft 180 degrees for the runways. russell then got behind the controls and positioned the plane for takeoff. during the roughly 75 minute flight, air traffic control tried persuading russell to land safely, incl

the russell building wasn't always named after richard russell. it used to just be called the senate office building or slb for short. one close friend of mccain joked that would fit the late senator perfectly. >> here to weigh in former governor of arkansas mike huckabee, great to see you, governor. >> great to be here. >> i want to read something alabama senator richard shelby had to say about this controversy. he said you want to get into that you have to get into george washington and thomas jefferson and most of our founding fathers maybe with the exception of hamilton. easy to prejudge what they should have done, we didn't live in that era, talking about stepping russell's name from the building but is that the end game for some folks anyway? >> the question is are they doing this to get rid of richard russell last name or to honor john mccain? if they're doing it to honor john mccain that is a wonderful thing to do. he is an american hero, this man served his country his entire life in ways beyond the call of duty. he is truly somebody who

airport and then fly it like he was in an airshow. 29-year-old richard russell, a nearly four year employee at sea-tac airport, died in the crash friday. investigators say the plane was parked in the maintenance area when russell used a tow tractor to turn the aircraft 180 degrees toward the runway. russell got in, got behind the controls, fired it up and took off. today officials met to discuss how to prevent future plane heists. >> we added employees security screening, physical screening like you experience when you go through and travel through this airport. we're one of the only airports in the country to do that when we took that voluntary leap. >> the fbi says that it has recovered the flight data recorder and parts of the cockpit voice recorder. the ntsb will now examine that evidence. >>> the man behind the hijacking told air traffic controllers he didn't need help flying because he played video games, but how accurate are they? can you really learn how to fly an airplane? kpix5's len ramirez tested out a flight simulator to find out. >> reporter: the flight simulators at san jose

theft of a turbo-prop airliner by an airport ground worker with no pilot training.. 29 year old richard russellcrash. ninety minutes of drama in the air ... russell says he learned to fly by playing video games. somehow he was able to steal a turboprop airliner from a maintenance area at sea=tac airport and put the plane through meaneuvers it was never designed to perform. russell died after crashing into a sparsely populated island 30 miles away. sea=tac officials say he was able to evade strict security measures. security protocols were handled securely at the airport /// it was an aberration.that aberration allowed russell ... a ground worker handling baggage ... to climb into the cockpit of a 76=passenger airliner, flip all the right switches to start the engines, taxi onto the runway and take off.... all air traffic controllers could do is keep other planes out of his way. "there's a ground stop no one is departing right now.//they are working out an issue close to our air space."jet natthe oregon air national guard scrambled a pair of f-15 fighter

richard russell voted against civil rights legislation. lyndon johnson kind of land all of his tax kicks in becoming the master of the senate, master of the senate from richard russell. at the end of the day it's unclear whether the senate will try to rename this building after john mccain. arthel. arthel: thank you pretty much, chad. turn to senator mccain's relationship with the president was blocky to say the least. he questioned his status as a war hero. recently he failed to mention the sender's name and assign a defense spending bill named after mccain. the sender recently called trumps all thinking this conference with vladimir putin, quote, disgraceful. their report to senator his family told the white house they do not want president trump at his funeral, though mike pence is acceptable. joining us to talk about this complicated and contentious relationship is white house correspondent for the "washtington examiner." the president has simply not been gracious to the senator during his sickness and long before that. he's been rude,

jon: what do we know about this guy, richard russell? well, the family using a close friend spoke out recently, through a statement, and basically saying that, you know, this came as a complete shock to them, and if i read from what they kind of said, they believe that he was kind and gentle to each person, judging by what they heard in the recordings with air traffic controllers, they say his intent was never to harm anyone. >> may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe, but he was a warm, compassionate man. it is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. he was a faithful husband, a loving son, and a good friend. >> now the family of richard russell says that he was right when he said that he was loved by so many. that's something he referenced in one of those recordings between air traffic controllers shortly before that plane crashed. jon? jon: what a very strange and sad story, jeff paul reporting from washington, jeff, thank you. >>> at least 39 people died today in an explosion in a rebel held part of no

has the latest. >> reporter: investigators scoured the tiny sparsely populated island where richard russell's flight came to an end. >> you need to call. >> reporter: friday night, a pair of fighter planes were launched after russell, an airport baggage handler, managed to steal a passenger plane parked in a maintenance area at seattle sea-tac airport. he navigated the plane across the tarmac and onto a runway. the flight lasted 75 minutes before he died in a fiery crash. russell had the same broad security access thousands of ramp workers and mechanics have. it is a potential security gap at the nation's airports. >> we are for ttunate in the see it wasn't a terrorist, somebody who was folk used on causing mass destruction. >> reporter: friends and family of russell were left stunned. they describe russell, nicknamed bebo, as a man with a great many of friends and. >> he was a warm compassionate man. >> he did everything in life with a certain amount of passion that i think everyone was envious of. >> reporter: family, friends, investigators all searching for answers. dan scheneman, nbc news

. >> it comes as we learn new details about the 29-year-old, richard russell, the ground crew member who took that plane on a joyride. in its final terrifying flight. here's abc's clayton sandell. >> reporter: investigators are sifting through pieces of plane wreckage 37 the last stop on a deadly joyride. >> what the [ bleep ] is he doing over here? >> reporter: how did richard russell, a groundworker, with no known pilot's license, steal a plan from one of the nation's busiest airports. >> holy [ bleep ]. holy [ bleep ]. >> reporter: trailed by fighter jets doing barrel rolls. and steep dives. >> there were maneuvers done that were incredible maneuvers with the aircraft. >> reporter: on the radio russell, a 29-year-old horizon airlines employee tells an air traffic controller he doesn't need help flying. >> i played video games before. so, i, uh -- i know what i'm doing a little bit. i know how to put the landing gear down. >> reporter: suggesting russell may have taught himself using a flight simulator. >> today you don't have to go to a terrorist training camp to learn how to buil

they hope the black box will shed new light to what led to richard russell's high flying joyride. on friday, russell flew this 76-seat commercial aircraft through the skies. after stealing the plane from seatac, he talked to air controller while doing stunts. >> can this thing do a black flip, do you think? >> controller questioned his experience as a pilot. >> do you feel comfortable with that in. >> oh yeah, it is a blast. i play video games before. i know what i am doing a little bit. >> flying upside down and doing loops. scrambling fighter jets in response. >> the flight ending in a fiery crash into an island. russell did not survive and no others were hurt >> he worked his shift in uniform. for three and a half years, he was employed by horizon air owned by alaskan air. >> there is not a ignition key. >> a source close to the investigation says russell used a towing tractor to back the plane on the runway. the incident revealed a troubling security gap at our nation's airports where thousands have access to planes. >> this is not something it is not design to defend against.

and then i saw some people posting rest in peace richard russell. and then i figured out that it was him and i listened to his voice more carefully during the audio after that and it was heartbreaking. you could tell he was in pain, seemed a little delusional and i was just shocked to see that someone who was no nice and helpful and caring actually, he cared about his job, do such a thing. and, you know, and end his life. so it was a little bad. >> as far as what is happening now, i can tell you that over at the island where the crash occurred there are dozens of investigators there. they're trying to retrieve those black boxes, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. but what evidence those boxes might yield we don't know. we already of course have say ton of evidence becau-- have a conversation. >> he is a former safety analyst and former inspector. thanks for being with us. we've had a little over one day to digest this unfortunate feat. it still seems somewhat surreal, doesn't it? but it was very real. do you have anymore insigh

authorities trying to learn how richard russell with no apparent training was able to climb into the cockpit and take off. here's clayton sandell. >> reporter: tonight, investigators are sifting the key question, how did richard russell, an airline ground worker with no known pilot's license, steal a plane? >> holy [ bleep ]! >> reporter: trailed by fighter jets. flying barrel rolls and steep dives. >> there were some maneuvers that were done that were incredible maneuvers with the aircraft. >> reporter: on the radio, russell, a 29-year-old horizon airlines employee, tells an air traffic controller he didn't need help flying. >> i've played video games before, so i know what i'm doing a little bit. i know how to put the landing gear down. >> reporter: suggesting russell may have taught himself using an inexpensive flight simulator. >> today, the sad fact is that you don't have to go a terrorist training camp to learn how to build a bomb, and you dont need to go to school to learn how to fly an airplane. all you have to do is go online. >> reporter: the fbi says russell was not a terr

a county sheriff described richard russell as "suicidal." his family says he was a faithful husband, a loving brother, and a good friend. here's jamie yuccas. >> reporter: at the controls of this roughly 75-minute-long unauthorized flight on a commercial airliner, 29 year-old richard "beebo" russell, a horizon air ground crew member, who stole the empty plane friday. >> just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, i guess. never really knew it till now. >> on behalf of the family, we are stunned and heartbroken. "beebo" was a warm, compassionate man. >> reporter: as he criss-crossed the seattle area, controllers urged russell to pay attention to his direction, fuel and speed. >> man, have you been to the olympics? these guys are gorgeous, holy smokes. >> yeah, i have been out there. it's always a nice drive. >> reporter: eyewitnesses saw the plane flying erratically and uncharacteristically low. two f-15 military fighter jets scrambled to intercept it. the "horizon air" turbo prop -- known as a q400 -- is a $32 million aircraft. the 76-seat pl

officials say 29-year-old richard russell passed multiple background checks, but he didn't have a pilot'sthey are, quote, stunned and heartbroken, calling russell a warm and compassionate man. >>> also right now, we have liftoff after a 24-hour delay. nasa's parker solar probe is on its way, starting a seven-year journey to study the sun. rob excited about that. spacecraft is expected to get closer to the sun's surface than any other rocket ship ever has. >> that's amazing. >>> well, the nfl preseason is under way. players continuing to demonstrate, kneeling, sitting, raising fists and refusing to take to the field for the national anthem to protest against police brutality. president trump tweeting about the renewed protest saying, players should be standing proudly. the nfl is not taking action saying it is in talks with the players association to come up with some updated guidelines. you remember back in may they actually put out the guidelines that players were required to either stand for the national anthem or sit on the sidelines, but then they retracted that and said they needed t

i can't believe the mccain for richard russell thing is going to somehow be controversial. michael, thank you very much. happy day after the last big primary. we'll be right back. (man) managing my type 2 diabetes wasn't my top priority. until i held her. i found my tresiba® reason. now i'm doing more to lower my a1c. i take tresiba® once a day. tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. (woman) we'd been counting down to his retirement. it was our tresiba® reason. he needs insulin to control his high blood sugar and, at his age, he's at greater risk for low blood sugar. tresiba® releases slow and steady and works all day and night like the body's insulin. (vo) tresiba® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and heada

they he that the black boxes will shed new light on what led to richard russell's high-flying joyride. iday, russell flew this 7060 commercial aircraft through the skies over seattle. after stealing the plane from sea-tac, he talked to air traffic controllers while doing wild stunts. >> hey, pilot guy, can this thing do a backflip, you think? >> controllers questioning his experience as a pilot. >> tust flyin plane around, you seem comfortable with that? >> oh, hell yeah.'s a blast. i played video games before, so you know, i know what i'm doing a little bit. >> flying upside down and doing loops, aerial csacroba stunning onlookers. >> should i do a barrel roll. if that goes good, i'll go nose down and call it a nht. >>despite ending in a fiery crash in an island in puget sound, russell didn't survive. amazingly, no others were hurt. >> he worked his shift. >> for 3 1/2 years, he was employed by horizon air. >> the doors of the airlines are ikt keyed cars. >> a source close to the investigation said he used a towing tractor to back the plane onto a runway. >> his wheels are smoking le

richard russell is in the news because there's talk about renaming the russell senate building the mccain senate building. richard russell was a mentor and friend to lbj and helped him to ascend the ranks in the senate and lbj knew that when he was endeavoring to pass the civil rights act of 164, which would get rid of jim crow laws and their false promise as separate but equal facilities that he was going to have to run over richard russell to do it, his owned friend and mentor and out of respect for him he calls him into his office and he says dick, i have to run over you on this. we're going to pass civil rights legislation that means something but if we do -- be prepared and russell says mr. president, you can do, that i believe you can do that but if you do, you will lose the southern states to the republicans and you will risk losing the presidency in your own right in the election later this year and he hears him out and he said dick, if that is the price for this bill i will gladly pay it and i think that shows why texas has changed to red, as did the deep southern states and they