Sea-Tac Airplane Hijacking Shows We Have Security Theater Not Security
This undated image posted to Richard Russell’s YouTube channel shows Russell, an airline ground agent. Investigators are piecing together how Russell stole an empty commercial airplane, took off from Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle, and crashed into a small island in the Puget Sound in Washington. (Richard Russell/YouTube via AP)
Friday evening, 29-year old ground service agent, Richard Russell, entered the cockpit of a Horizon Air Q400, took off, and eventually, after being intercepted by USAF F-15 interceptors and then running out of fuel, died when he crashed the plane into Kenton Island in Puget Sound. Here is Russell as he calmly chats with an air traffic controller.
Here are some of Russell’s last moments as he pulls the Q400 through a barrel roll maneuver:
Horizon Air #Q400 crashes near #Seattle after a mechanic steals the plane and takes off without clearance !! He was chased by two F15 fighters to intercept him pic.twitter.com/fEVQyOjI3k
— Aviationdaily✈️الطيران يوميآ (@Aviationdailyy) August 11, 2018
Here are the interesting parts.
Russell pushed the aircraft back from the gate and pointed it using a push-back tractor alone. This normally is at least a two man job.
Russell entered the cockpit and fired up the aircraft and no one noticed.
Russell apparently took off even though ground control could not identify or gain radio contact with the aircraft:
Asked how the man got the aircraft from the taxiway to a runway, Horizon Air CEO Beck declined to speculate.
Normal procedures call for a flight crew to request clearance to push back the aircraft, and there would be communications with ground control all the way out to the runway. Then, the crew would be turned over to the tower for clearance takeoff.
This was a much more chaotic process.
Communications recorded from the Sea-Tac tower capture a controller repeatedly demanding identification from a Bombardier turboprop lining up on the runway. The unknown aircraft was on parallel runway 16c, according to Flight Global, website for the trade magazine Flight International. But it is unclear how he accessed the runway, and also how much of it he would have used, since an unloaded Q400 would need only a fraction of the full length to take off.
“Aircraft on [taxiway] Charlie lining up runway 16C, say call sign,” the controller states, according to the transcript reported by Flight Global.
The controller sought to establish communication several more times, then learned from an Alaska Airline flight crew that the Horizon aircraft was taking off, according to Flight Global.
Russell was not a trained or qualified pilot. Speculation is that he learned how to fly using a PC-based flight simulator.
All of this points to the fallacy in the security precautions being taken at US airports. It appears that it is largely security theater, that is, a sham security system designed to be seen by the maximum number of people. By calling someone’s colostomy bag a threat because it carries more than 3.4 ounces of liquid, it gives the generic traveler the illusion of a rigorous system of inspections. In reality, the real threat is on the far side of security and there appears to be little in place.
Had Russell been of a homicidal as well as suicidal mindset, he could have plowed into Seattle long before any interceptors were airborne.
=========
=========
Like what you see? Then visit my story archive.
Follow @streiffredstate
I’m on Facebook. Drop by and join the fun there.
=========
=========
The post Sea-Tac Airplane Hijacking Shows We Have Security Theater Not Security appeared first on RedState.
Source: https://www.redstate.com/streiff/2018/08/12/sea-tac-airplane-hijacking-shows-security-theater-not-security/
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).
Although it is true that this man could’ve used the plane as a weapon of mass destruction, it is also true that he was properly vetted before being hired. He is a rogue employee; and there is no way that anybody but him is to blame or at fault. Any and everybody comes through the airport as passengers so the extra security you describe is necessary. But not so much behind the scenes where the employees are. And once this guy got into that plane and shit the doors, there’s not much that anyone could’ve done to stop him after that. I’m sure this will raise eyebrows and cause more strict security even behind the scenes now; which is good. But the fact is that it was not needed, this extra security, until this guy demonstrated the vulnerabilities and need for it. There is no one to blame except him. And maybe God used this guy to make us all aware of this security loophole, maybe to prevent something else that is now, NOT going to happen. Because of this guy. So we thank this guy. And we frown on anyone who’s attempting to place blame on anyone else but him. This guy had fun giving his life to make us aware of a very serious security risk. Sonif what he did wasn’t so illegal, I’d be publicly thanking him. See the lessons. Learn the lessons. By ignoring the distractions.