# Source note — “Sky King” Richard Russell X video

Prepared: 2026-08-11

## User lead
X post: https://x.com/wildklip/status/2086800964216922487/video/1?s=46
Post text: “The conversation of a Man who stole a plane and the police was one of the most touching 🥺”

## Captured media
- X video downloaded with yt-dlp from the public post.
- Downloaded source: `source.mp4`, 1180×2556, duration about 273.37 seconds, 68.3 MB.
- Public web copy generated for the PBC article: `assets/videos/sky-king-richard-russell-horizon-air-q400-source-check.mp4`.
- Contact sheet, poster, ffprobe JSON and Whisper transcript preserved in this folder.

## Identification
The clip is about the August 10, 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident often called “Sky King.” The man was Richard “Beebo” Russell, a Horizon Air ground service agent.

## Verification anchors
- FBI Seattle press release: “FBI Completes Investigation into August 2018 Unauthorized Flight from Seattle-Tacoma Airport.”
- NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report / WPR18FA220 / N449QX. The NTSB states it provided technical assistance to the FBI and did not determine probable cause because FBI held jurisdiction.
- Seattle Times report on the FBI conclusion, preserving local context.
- Public ATC transcript/audio source for the quoted radio conversation, used only for what the recording says.

## Editorial caution
This is a public-interest/source-check feature, not a glorification of suicide or aircraft theft. The key result is not “romantic outlaw story”; it is a documented aviation-security and mental-health tragedy.

If someone is in immediate danger, call emergency services. In Canada and the U.S., 988 connects to suicide crisis support.