of Puget Sound. As the aircraft cleared
the viewpoint of those who witnessed
the maneuver, the video then showed a
single F-15, following at a distance from a
higher altitude.
A short time later, ‘Rock 42’ advised
Seattle approach that the Q400 had gone
down near the shore of the sparsely
populated Ketron Island, just west of
Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The Eagles
stayed on station and were immediately
given the airspace from 20,000ft and
below out to a 5nm radius from the crash
site. They monitored the scene until law
enforcement o cials, as well as re rescue
personnel, were able to get to the scene
and assume responsibility.
Interestingly, at the point the ghters
climbed back to higher altitude, Seattle
Center advised of two Boeing 767s in
a block altitude to the north of their
position. It turned out to be a pair of
Boeing KC-46A Pegasus refueling tankers
conducting a test mission, and they
o ered to rejoin with the two F-15s and
refuel them. That would have been an
amazing rst, but the Eagles declined as
an alert KC-135 from the Washington Air
National Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing
— callsign ‘Gasman 04’ — had launched
out of Fairchild AFB in Spokane and
was inbound.The aftermath
Many people want to know how someone
who isn’t a pilot could have done whatRussell accomplished. How did he get
airborne without anyone really noticing or
stopping him? Where did he learn to start
the engines and get the systems working?
The list of questions is extensive.
According to o cials at the Port of
Seattle, absolutely none of its standing
security protocols were violated that
night. Russell had successfully passed
the stringent background investigation
conducted by the Federal Aviation
Administration for all airport employees.
The investigation goes back 10 years and
has a renewal process every two years.
Nothing appeared to be amiss, except for
one thing. The elephant in the room in this
case appears to be mental health.
Through his actions at the outset of the
incident, as well as his dialogue with air
tra c controllers, it became apparent that
Russell’s mental state was not in a healthy
place. At one point in conversation, he
even referenced his working environment,his wages, wistfully stating, ‘maybe this
will grease the gears with the higher-ups.’
Whether it accomplishes that goal
or not, in the grand scheme of airport
security and airline operations, is largely
irrelevant. This incident brought to light
cracks in the armor. You can talk about
deeper background checks. You can
even implement more stringent security
requirements. You can talk all day long
about the vulnerabilities. The most
fallible component of the system is the
human. Sometimes people just do bizarre
things, and the result — especially in this
case — is just as heartbreaking as it is
inexplicable.
I saw this quote on a meme about
the event, and it’s sad, humorous, and
profound all at the same time. ‘In this era
of anger and outrage, where people lash
out at society by shooting up schools and
concerts, one man just wanted to do a
barrel roll.’Above: ‘Rock 42’
scrambles in
20-second trail.
The pilot of ‘41’
was wearing the
Joint Helmet-
Mounted Cueing
System (JHMCS),
while that of
this jet wears a
helmet confi gured
for night vision
goggles (NVGs).
William T.
Shemley
Inset: The
Bombardier Dash
8 Q400 involved,
N449QX, was
delivered to
Horizon Air in
June 2012.
Simon Gregory/
Aviation Image
http://www.combataircraft.net // October 2018 17