‘Will Alaska give me a pilot job?’ Seattle plane thief joked before crash

The suspect behind the theft of an empty plane from Seattle-Tacoma airport on Sunday detailed his job as a baggage handler and his passion for travel in his last video post on the social media platform Youtube. Richard Russell - who states in the video posted last December that he filmed and edited the material - said his role meant he lifted a lot of bags but also said it meant he could travel a lot. The theft of an empty plane by the airline worker who performed dangerous loops before crashing into a remote island in Puget Sound illustrated what aviation experts have long known - one of the biggest potential perils for commercial air travel is airline or airport employees causing mayhem. Gary Beck, CEO of Horizon Air, said it wasn't clear how the man knew to start the engine, which requires a series of switches and levers. At a news conference, officials from Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air said that they are working with authorities.