This story is about suicide. If you or someone close to you is thinking about suicide, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Richard Russell spent his last moments alone, sick, disoriented and cracking jokes as he flew a plane he knew wouldn’t return. In August 2018, a Horizon Air agent clocked in, took off and landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport aboard a Bombardier Q400. He spoke to air traffic controllers for over an hour who urged him not to land. Then he crashed the plane on Ketron Island. Russell’s friends and family are speaking out for the first time. The film includes audio from air traffic control and is based upon available investigative records. “[Beebo] sounded just like guys I knew from home, especially when he talked about his work, minimum wage, and some of the frustrations that he felt around employment — and how he couldn’t speak about the difficult feelings he had. “It bewitched Gillespie,” he shared. “I couldn’t get it out of my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. “FOLLOW FOX TRUE CRIME ON XAs Russell was flying over the Olympic Mountains he made a confess in the recording which Gillespie said still haunts both her and his family. “I have a lot people who care about me and it will disappoint them to learn that I did this,” said Russell. “I apologize to everyone of them. [I’m] just a broken guy. I think I’ve got a few loose screws. I never knew it until now. “His last transmission indicated his fuel reserves were dangerously close. The time was running out. “Not for much longer,” he said. “I feel as if one of my engines has gone out or something. “Moments after, the Q400 crashed in the woods and ignited a 2-acre fire. The FBI stated that Russell died from “multiple traumatic injury”. Gillespie said, “There’s a line in which he says that he just wanted to talk with these guys but they are all business. “Those were the things that also stood out to me. He says at one point, “If you ask why I did it… blame it on me not making minimum wage. We’ll chalk it all up to that.” This might grease the wheels of the higher-ups. I heard this at dinner. Not just my male friends. “SIGN-UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER”He said some more controversial things during that call,” said Gillespie. “He made a statement that was extremely controversial on the internet. He said, he thought Alaska Airlines would give him a job if he landed this plane. They replied, ‘Oh they’ll give a job to you doing anything. He was referred to as the poster boy of White supremacy by some really unsavory characters. “”People on the other end of spectrum said he was a domestic terrorist hell bent on destruction, but that turned out to not be accurate,” she added. “But, when I heard these words and saw how they were taken in context, i had a feeling that there was missing information. I didn’t have any idea what the information would be, but I felt compelled to investigate it. “During Gillespie’s sit-downs, she learned that Russell was born in the Florida Keys but raised in Wasilla in Alaska. He was goofy and deeply spiritual. Hannah, his future bride, was later met at a Christian youth programme. In 2012, they got married and moved to Washington. In a YouTube video, Russell shared pictures of his travels, and spoke about his job as a airport worker. “I lift a ton of bags,” said Russell. “Like a bunch of bags.” So many bags. “But this gig was not a dream job. Russell was unfulfilled at work and on social media. His social media posts gave no indication that he was suffering quietly. GET REAL-TIME UPDATE DIRECTLY ON TRUE CRIME HUB”He wasn’t making a statement about being oppressed as White guy,” Gillespie stressed. “It sounded like a statement made about something that was said to him at his workplace. It’s frightening to me that this story was rarely uncovered, because the internet machine acted with such a lack of curiosity to ask how these words came out of that person. “”I think Beebo’s aunt puts it very well when she says, ‘This is the American dream – you can provide for your spouse, you can have a house, you can afford two cars, and you can even have a white picket fencing.’ .'”” That’s not the reality that we live in anymore. “The truth is, they’re not failures. They have to figure out why the economy is failing. We don’t really talk about this stuff. These social pressures or, in Beebo’s case, the pressures to be a provider or a man, are not known by people. The pressure to succeed. The Associated Press reported that “people who knew Russell told FBI and other law enforcement officials they had no evidence to suggest they knew about Russell’s plans for stealing or crashing an airplane. Records cited by The Associated Press state that “contacts with Russell’s employers determined there were no staff issues.” “Russell is known as a quiet man who loves to read. Russell had a few absences that were not excused, but nothing significant. Records show that other witnesses told FBI agents Russell had “failed” to go to work on Aug. 3, and expressed feeling like he wasn’t living up to expectations. The witnesses reported that he tried to get a job on Aug. 4, but the following day, he “seemed odd.” The Associated Press reported that loved ones tried to intervene. The week of August 6, Russell appeared fine to friends and family. “Four days after that, Russell entered the aircraft and took off without authorisation. The FBI found evidence that he had searched simulators prior to the incident. During Russell’s conversation, he stated he did not want to hurt anyone. He deliberately kept the plane far away from populated areas. Reports have noted that Russell had the option to cause much more damage if he chose to do so. Officials said that the incident was a serious threat to public safety, and revealed vulnerabilities in airport security. Russell performed an acrobatic maneuver before the plane plunged deep into the forest. Nearly 17 years after 9/11, many wondered how someone could take a passenger aircraft from a major U.S. Airport without authorization. Russell can be heard from the cockpit saying, “I’m going try to do a barrow roll and if that works, I’ll go down nose first and call it a day.” “The line which broke my heart was when his brother Phil, was asked about it,” Gillespie said. “He said ‘He could be anything he wants to be.'” This idea that if only he had believed in himself and believed he lived in a country where guys like him can win, he could be anything he wants to be. He could have become a pilot. “The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled Russell’s suicide. Authorities concluded that Russell took the plane on his own, a decision that could have led to a significant loss of lives. Gillespie said that even eight years after the tragedy, his family is still deeply hurt. “You’ll never be able to get over this.” Suicide does not end pain. It can be passed on to your family. “But I also think that the family wants to use his story as a force for positive change in helping others like him to get the help they require so that other families do not have to go through the same thing.”