as much room to maneuver as possible
while mitigating the risk of collision with
other aircraft in the area.
Even though the controllers were
erroneously calling the incident a
‘hijacking’, other pilots were quick to
accommodate ATC’s request and cleared
the airspace. Controllers also had radio
communication established with Russell,
attempting to determine his intentions
as the Q400 ew low over several
communities.Eagles inbound
‘Seattle Center, ‘Rock 41’, active air
scramble, in the descent — eight
thousand.’ With the airspace cleared as
much as possible, and the two ghters
descending to a lower altitude, they were
given vectors to intercept the wayward
Bombardier, which was still ying very low
over the area. The control tower at one of
the smaller airports reported seeing the
aircraft at only 1,000ft as it passed directly
overhead. As the two F-15s pressed
further into the area, ‘Rock 41’ descended
below 3,000ft to get a visual identi cation
and establish contact, while ‘Rock 42’
stayed higher to maintain overwatch.
‘Rock’ ight’s mission was to keep the
Bombardier out over the water, away from
the heart of Seattle and the surrounding
population centers. Fortunately, Russell
complied with all the instructions he
was given, both from ATC and the
F-15s. In addition to putting themselvesbetween the Q400 and the shoreline,
the Eagle pilots were acting as a conduit
of information between ‘Bigfoot’ and
what was happening in real time over
Puget Sound. Decision-makers at the
WADS were assessing the situation from
moment to moment, bearing the heavy
responsibility of potentially ordering the
Eagles to engage and shoot down the
aircraft if Russell’s erratic behavior turned
into demonstrative, homicidal intent.
With radio communications between
the stolen aircraft and Seattle approach,
o cials began the task of trying to
convince Russell to nd a safe place
to land the aircraft. An ATP-rated pilot
was on hand to help with airspeeds,
altitudes, and con gurations, providing
the expertise to try to get Russell back
on the ground as safely as possible.
For those who y, we understand
that landing an aircraft is a very
delicate procedure, and the slightest
miscalculation or inattention can lead to
disastrous results.
At point, the controller suggested Joint
Base Lewis-McChord as a possible place
to land, but this request was rebu ed by
Russell. ‘Yeah, not quite ready to bring it
down just yet.’
One of the other concerns was the
rate at which the Q400 was burning
through fuel. His ight started at
‘Thirty-something [thousand pounds],’
but he found himself with just over
2,100lb remaining. In addition, at onepoint he asked for assistance with cabin
pressurization, to ‘not feel so light-headed.’
With the gas aboard dwindling
and a man at the controls who was
feeling negative physiological e ects,
the situation was rapidly becoming
dire. It also appeared the severity of
his own actions was setting in from
a psychological standpoint, Russell
commenting at one point, ‘I’ve got a lot of
people that care about me. It’s going to
disappoint them to hear that I did this...
Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose,
I guess. I didn’t realize it until now.’
There wasn’t much ATC could do except
stand by as Russell made his own choices.
The two F-15 pilots were equally as
helpless, trying to give him as wide a berth
as possible, at one point asking Center
for a 10-mile bubble around the stolen
aircraft. They continued to assess Russell’s
behavior, watching the aircraft closely and
passing real-time updates to ‘Bigfoot’.
As he neared the end of his usable fuel,
Russell advised, ‘I think I am going to try
to do a barrel roll and if that goes good
then I am going to go nose-down and
call it a night.’
Di erent video clips taken from mobile
phones on the ground showed the
Q400 performing the maneuver. The
aircraft can be clearly seen beginning an
aileron roll to the right, slowly lurching
over and then continuing through in a
descending barrel roll, pulling out of the
dive a minimal distance above the surfaceTHE OPS DESK // HORIZON AIR INCIDENT
16 October 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net