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 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 was stolen from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea–Tac) in Seattle, Washington. With a name like “Friendship”, the airplanes would symbolize the culture that Kuolt wanted to bring to airlines.N449QX, the aircraft involved in the incident, pictured 2 months before the crashĤ7☀8′53″N 122☃8′15″W / 47.148056°N 122.637500°W / 47.148056 -122.637500 Especially as the airline, according to “Remember the Magic”, “Had a Bellevue catering firm deliver croissants and strawberries hand-dipped in chocolate”. There would be a lavatory, complimentary coach bags, and flight attendants would be able to provide in-flight service, a matter rather important to Horizon Air. The F-27 Friendship aircraft would be pressurized and therefore be more pleasant than the unpressurized aircraft flown by their competitor Cascade Airways at the time. Even Milt Kuolt II would help clean them and do other menial tasks to prep for flights, like loading baggage, during his tenure as CEO. Nonetheless, with hard work, the aircraft would quickly become shiny aircraft with new owners, as pictured above. It’s the art form that makes the difference.”Īs to the livery pictured above, according to “Remember the Magic…”, Bill Lloyd, a creative advertising person who worked with Boeing, designed the livery with, “A dark red sun on lighter and lighter yellow, then the horizon line and the turquoise color for the sea.” ![]() The technical part of running an airline is easy. Most of these airline CEOs think flying airplanes is their business, when in fact, the only thing you have to sell is service. They give little thought to what happens to either their baggage or their travel plans. The carriers out there have a cavalier attitude toward their passengers. The technical stuff, like pilots and maintenance, is the easy side but the service side is what will make us different. “Today’s airlines don’t really grasp what service is all about. Why? According to, “Remember the Magic… The Story of Horizon Air” by Bill Endicott But for Kuolt at that time, Thousand Trails was at a place where new management was needed as the company outgrew his management abilities.įor Kuolt, the next logical step was to start an airline. ![]() Kuolt, in the late 1970s, was running a membership campground company called Thousand Trails. To show people that I can build an airline different from all those other … airlines out there.
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