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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