The fire burned a 2-acre (0.8 ha) area, but was extinguished by the following morning. Delayed by the Steilacoom–Anderson Island ferry, firefighters from West Pierce Fire and Rescue and other nearby departments arrived on the island about an hour and a half after the crash, where they then contended with the island's thick brush. A tow boat crew was the first to respond. The Q400 ultimately crashed at 20:43 local time on Ketron Island in Puget Sound, Pierce County, Washington, killing the occupant and destroying the aircraft. The two F-15s attempted to direct the aircraft toward the Pacific Ocean, and did not fire at it. I was kind of hoping that was gonna be it, you know?" He added that he "wasn't really planning on landing it." A veteran pilot said the maneuver "seemed pretty well executed, without either stalling or pulling the wings off." When an air traffic controller requested he land the plane after this maneuver, he said "I don't know. Near the end of the flight, the aircraft was seen performing a barrel roll over Puget Sound, recovering a mere ten feet (three meters) over the water. He spoke of wanting to do "a couple maneuvers to see what it can do", and requested the coordinates of an orca that had been brought to national attention, saying, "I want to go see that guy." He stated that he did not want to hurt anyone, and in the final minutes of the communication apologized to his friends and family. ATC said, "they would give you a job doing anything if you could pull this off", to which he replied, "Yeah right! Nah, I'm a white guy." I wouldn't want to do that." He asked ATC if he could get a job as a pilot with Alaska Airlines if he successfully landed the aircraft. I think I might mess something up there, too. Never really knew it until now." When ATC suggested that the plane be landed at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, the occupant refused: "Those guys will rough me up if I try and land there. He said he was a "broken guy, got a few screws loose I guess. The transmissions were quickly recorded and posted on social media websites. Seattle–Tacoma air traffic control (ATC) maintained radio contact with the occupant. Flights in and out of Sea–Tac Airport were temporarily suspended. A KC-135R Stratotanker refueling tanker was also scrambled from Fairchild Air Force Base to support the F-15 flight. Both were armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and went supersonic, generating sonic booms on the way to the Puget Sound area. In response, two McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles of the Oregon Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter Wing under the command of NORAD were scrambled at around 20:15 local time from Portland Air National Guard Base to intercept it. A nearby Alaska Airlines jet on the ground reported that the aircraft began a takeoff roll with its wheels smoking, and an unauthorized take-off was made at 19:32 local time (02:32 UTC, August 11). Seattle Tower tried several times to get the pilot of the aircraft to identify himself on frequency, but received no response. The aircraft was stolen from Plane Cargo 1 at the north end of Sea–Tac Airport and maneuvered to runway 16C via taxiways. Location of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (north) and Ketron Island (south) within northwestern Washington state. Incident Chart of the far northern end of Seattle–Tacoma International, showing the location of Cargo 1 and runway 16C It was not scheduled to fly again that day. It landed at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport at 13:35 local time the afternoon of the incident, after an in-service flight from Victoria, British Columbia. It had first flown in 2012 and was delivered new to Horizon Air in the same year. The incident aircraft was a Bombardier Q400, owned by Horizon Air (and operating for Alaska Airlines) with the registration N449QX and serial number 4410. Sea–Tac air traffic control made radio contact with Russell, the sole occupant, who described himself as a "broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess." About 1 hour and 15 minutes after takeoff, Russell died by intentionally crashing the aircraft on lightly populated Ketron Island in Puget Sound. After Russell performed an unauthorized takeoff, two McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighters were scrambled to intercept the aircraft. The perpetrator, 29-year-old Richard Russell, was a Horizon Air ground service agent with no piloting experience. On August 10, 2018, a Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 was stolen from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea–Tac) in Seattle, Washington.
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