Born and raised in Alaska, Richard “Beebo” Russell was the middle child of five whose mom ended a second marriage to an alcoholic, but things remained chaotic at home. Richard, or Beebo as his whole family referred to him, was the glue that held the family together. He was funny, kind, and optimistic; his mother and siblings all adored him. After leaving college, he married the love of his life, Hannah. They seemed perfect together. She wanted to own and run a bakery, so that’s what they did for several years. They quit after figuring out they were only clearing about $4 an hour and moved to the Seattle area, near her folks.
Beebo finds work at Sea-Tac, the large airport, as a ground control employee. They load the baggage, visually direct the planes on the ground, and drag the planes into parking spots with motorized vehicles. Beebo loved his job and took advantage of the perks, going on seventeen trips with his wife during his three years of employment. At this point, he wants to advance with the company; they suggest additional education, so he starts taking college classes alongside his full-time employment. The promotion he hopes for goes to someone else.
Suddenly, one day, while moving a plane, he hops on board while it is still rolling and takes off without identifying himself or getting clearance. It was a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400, seating up to 90 passengers; it was, of course, empty. When he finally speaks to the control tower, he says he’s just out for a spin and identifies himself and his job at the airport. He admits he doesn’t know how to fly, but he has read books about it.
We follow the entire flight through reenactment and the tapes of the conversation from the flight. His siblings are also shown listening to the tape with us. He says he doesn’t want to hurt anyone; he wants to fly to Mount Rainier, which he does. The controller checks his fuel level and altitude and offers to help him land, but he says he’s not interested and doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life in prison. In the meantime, jets from the military have been dispatched, but he avoids large cities, and they hang back. At one point, he says he didn’t get the promotion at work because he was white, but later, when talking to his friend Andreas, who is African American, we find out that the person who got the promotion was also white. Andreas says it was common for the company to pit employees against each other to prevent unity and the possibility of unionization. The reality was that people like Beebo are not in the class of people who get promotions. The American Dream has become elusive for many.
It is with profound sadness that we hear the final words on the tape. So many people loved him, but at that time, no one could know what he was feeling. The impact of this will stay with you long after it’s over.