A Tribute To The Sky King - Three Years After, The Legend Lives On (EN/GER)

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German Version and links to the resources are below

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Hey guys,

This post should have been published yesterday on the anniversary of Richard Russell's death, but I struggled too long with my inner censor, we all feel probably most of the time now when expressing a slightly controversial topic. That feeling never left me, even after leaving traditional, censorious social media.
And I wasn't sure, how much of my true feelings I could share. This hommage is near and dear to my heart and I want to do it and the man it portrays justice.

So, a day later, I want to share the final moments of Richard "Beebo" Russel, now called Sky King.

Hijacking a plane never looked so easy

Richard was 29 years old, when he boarded an empty airplane on August 10th 2018 at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The plane belonged to the Alaska Horizon Airline, for which Richard worked as a ground service agent.
He flew the Bombardier Dash 8 Q 400 around an hour and did a barrel roll amongst other stunts above the pacific ocean. Veteran pilots said, this was virtually impossible, but it happened. A guy without proper training did this, after sneaking into the hangar and went on the adventure of his life, even if it was the last thing he did.
The Air Control Agent tried to steer him into surrender and to landing the plane, but Beebo was in his element. He was living his dream. Maybe he lived for the first time in his life. He was so joyous and filled with childlike wonder. It was a pleasure, hearing him and forgetting, that this was his last conversation.
He taught himself flying through simulation games, can you believe that?
My interpretation is, he wanted to break free from ordinary, restrained life. He broke free in such a wild manner and his last moments must have been so intense but at the same time so unique, that he could't help but feel enthusiasm, hope and true happiness.

Mainstream reports

Official reports on the internet speculated about his motive without digging deep, like all Mainstream media is nowadays.
They stated the facts, that Richard crashed the plane eventually in a "safe kind of manner" (Beebos own words) into the unpopulated Ketron Island near the airport in Puget Sound and that he had a family.

A friend of mine sent me the full audio-version of the transmission between Richard and Air Control and it changed my life. I didn't know, what to do, afterwards. Half in shock, half inspired and deeply touched by another mans action and soulbearing last conversation, I never met and now would never have the chance to meet. I cried bitter tears for a kind soul, who took his life for a reason (or reasons) I could feel in my stomach, I could almost grasp, but couldn't articulate. To this day, it is hard to explain. CNN, ABC, The New York Times et al were no help at all as usual. They had published oddity pieces, which readers ought to read and forget as quickly as possible. so I went on YouTube.

Research on YouTube

There, you could find official sources as well, but a number of small-tear channels had already produced gripping videos, which portrayed Richards suicide ride with a different perspective. Amongst others, there were emotional tribute videos with parts of the original audio-track and beautifully fitting songs like "If I could Fly".
As I paroused through the channels and comments, I felt a sense of community. I wasn't alone with my strange feeling of loss and sadness.
Grief for a brother, I never knew. It was this intense, I tell you. Even today, I remember him as someone, I could have loved as a friend, a brother, a son, a human being and a kindred spirit, who suffered as much as I did from the modern world.
More and more small channels produced videos and thousands of comments populated the comment sections. You could see, it was an organic movement, organic searches instead of manipulated algorithms for big channels to onboard new "customers".
Desperate souls searching for answers found one another and gave comfort to one another, whilst mourning the loss of a friend and maybe realizing for the first time in their lives, the loss of a stolen future, we'll never know.
Endless commentary from disenchanted, disenfranchised, hopeless young (mostly) men poured into the collective minds of the readers and revealed something, which is hard to pinpoint and is a bit of a taboo topic in Western media and Western "polite" conversation.

• You think, after landing it successfully, Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?
• I think, they will give you a job doing anything, if you could pull this off.
• YEAH RIGHT... Nah, I'm a white guy!

Oswald Spengler wrote about it some 100 years ago in his monumental work "The Decline of the West". He called it the "civilizational malaise" of the West with many symptoms, which have increased over the decades. I won't get political here, because it is not appropriate for this tribute, but I think, wherever we stand politically, we can all feel, Western societies have maneuvered themselves into a deadlock. Even non-westerners scratching their heads, why we are on an apparent civilizational suicide mission (I regularly speak with a couple of Chinese migrants, who are appalled of the negative attitude, most Germans have towards Germany).

I think, people intuitively feel, that we're in a transition era, a time of the decline of a great civilization and the coming of something new, which we can only guess.
The seminal work of William Strauss "The Fourth Turning" covers this exact topic. He gives an overview of the rise, the peak and the decline of great empires in world history and sees another turning right now, with the rapid decline of the West, which will end in turmoil, war and civil war, and according to many geopolitical experts, in mass starvation, more mass migration, and some even say, another dark age. In my opinion, this could very well be the case.
You just have to look beyond the news and see the strains of the world system set up for us to "live" in it, to grasp the truth and what lies ahead.

People like Beebo are early indicators - the canary in the coalmine, if you will - for the future.
One man, which the media portrayed as a happy-go-lucky man, who had it all and who you should forget instantly, could invoke so many fervent, soulbearing comments from everyday men, which showed so much desperation over this modern world and so brutally honest opinions and analyses of societies, that were staggering and encouraging at the same time.
It gave me a sliver of hope and an inkling of what most Western men of my generation and the younger generation feel to various degrees.
This hunch has burnt into my soul.
Beebo was one of us. With his parforce run, he briefly ripped the band-aid from the festered wound, which is modern Western Civilization and gave us something to think about.

When I went through the comments, I could feel the silent desperation of so many young men, it was heartbreaking.
I know, the Hive rule seems to be just about 30% of a blog-post should consist of quotes, but I hope the curators will make an exception, when they read through the quoted comments, I post here. And I want to encourage everyone of you to look at the comments under the Videos, I linked below. You gain a sense of solidarity with people, you don't know. It is transcendent.
Every year on this anniversary, I search for new comments and go through the old ones and every time I cry when I think of the Sky King and his final decision to end it all, because he would have never been free again, after throwing a wrench in the cogs of the machine.
They would have made an example out of him and he knew it. He said it.
So he decided, to be free for eternity and sometimes I think, he still flies somewhere above us and watches over us, as his legend grows.

Fly Hig, SkyKing
be free and Rest In Peace.

Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
_{Dylan Thomas}

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A small variety of comments, I collected over the years. In their entirety, they paint a picture of a generation in pain, a society of individuals in desperate need of community and sense of belonging.

"The Skyking was one man with a menial job who taught himself to fly through computer simulation. Just think of what ten thousand of us could do - or ten million. What happens when millions of white men decide to see the mountains from above? What happens when we decide we want to be more?" And for a moment, the pain stops. I feel hope for the first time in years.**

To be called Sky King is misleading. It would be limiting you to the sky. You are more. You are quite simply... King. We love you, brother.

That, nah I'm white moment hit me like a brick truck.

He talks like a man that got really good at putting on a happy face to hide his pain.

As someone who, himself, is really good at putting on his happy face. That's the first thing I noticed with his audio recordings. And it kind of broke my heart

Sky King didn’t kill himself, he just called it a night

he's not broken , he's a sane guy trying to live in an insane world

"nose down and call it a night" - that statement just made me feel so sad. Just the absolute complacency with which he said it, just knowing he was ready to die. This video made me cry.

There's something about it... The hidden sadness and depression in his life was transformed into something of transcendent beauty. Keep on flying, you King

I never heard of Sky King before this. This was entirely new to me, and I have a new hero.

The Sky King story broke my heart. He didn’t want to hurt anyone he was at the end of his ropes and just wanted to feel freedom before he lost his grip.

This has been the first time I cried for a long time I forgot how. Thank you for sharing this with me.

"In their last moments, people show you who they really are." The final day of his life with the power in his hand to destroy others, all he wanted to do was take one last look at the land he loved, have a laugh, and go home to where he belonged. Rest in peace, Sky King.

I unironically keep him in my heart and pray for him

Now I am crying. First time in a few years, idk but this man.... He is a legend

i cant articulate why this man touches me

Physical embodiment of the faustian spirit
He was dead on the ground, the second he left it he was alive.

a man who wanted to reign over the skies, if only for a few minutes. fly high, sky king. you will be in our hearts.

I remember this really vividly. I've never felt such individual empathy before for another human being.

yesterday was the anniversary, sky king changed my life. fly high buddy

he is all of us, just sounds like me, my best friends. god to have a beer with this guy

we all have a piece of richard russel in each of us... we also have a piece of skyking in each of us. we must use our skyking side to our full potential... every man's quest for freedom.

Who put all these tears in my eyes

The msm edited out the part where he said "Naw, I'm a white guy!". Figures.

Sky king shows the difference in what can be called humans and machines. The entire time ground control act like automatons even though they should have caught on that he was going to end it, while sky king lives for the sake of living.

Even the pilot of the trailing USAF fighter jet held off. He could tell from monitoring the radio chatter that Sky King was no threat to anyone but himself. He and the ground controllers could see a damaged soul within and his rage and revolt against the modern world. RIP Rich. So many young men feel your pain which is a sad state of affairs for Western Civilization

Godspeed, you magnificent bastard!

It was said that SkyKing did maneuvers that day that that plane was NOT supposed to be capable of doing, with no training, no help. Just a broken man living his dream.

I wish I was his co-pilot

Save a seat for me, Sky King.

While this video isn't along the lines of what I usually post, as it isn't an animation nor is it directly doomer related, it is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Richard "Skyking" Russell was one of us. He was a normal guy who was pushed to extremes. No one really knows his motives or seems to care to ask why Richard, a seemingly happy man, would take a plane and end his life in it. It's sad his story wasn't strong enough for any more information on him or his reasoning to break through to the public, though they aren't necessarily needed. We may not know much about Richard or what finally broke the camels back, but we do know that for some minutes, Skyking was the freest man on earth as he soared amongst a setting sky. I find his story incredibly inspirational, much to the likeliness of Marvin Heemeyer and his trusty steed, the Killdozer. Skyking, I hope you found peace to rest your troubles as you kissed the sky and walked amongst angels

People ask why he went up there to die, he didn't. he went up there to live ... For one last time ... for the first time

One year on. See you around, space cowboy. RIP

it matters not how straight the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." The world couldn't keep him. He had to fly into eternity.

He was the most free man on Earth for those brief moments. If he was alive, I would have a beer with him. Fly high sky king! Go fly with Jesus!

Never met this man, but God I feel like I’ve known him my whole life :’(

Lived for an hour but will actually live forever

ourguy in the sky

It hurts me deeply to think you suffered so much in life you could only find relief in death. And yet the rest of us can only dream of the freedom you finally found up there. And through us your memory will soar for eternity. You left your mark on the world Richard Russell. Rest in peace my friend.

"Take my love, take my land Take me where I cannot stand I don't care, I'm still free You can't take the sky from me" [Firefly]

In the Twilight of Western Civilization The Faustian Man dances with death Painting the sky in effervescent fire Fly onwards to Valhalla Sky King fly on

Rest In Peace to the great skyking! I had a couple beers today and looked to the sky and swear I saw a glimmer of his plane soaring on. He fly’s on in all of our hearts and minds. A true legend who had complete freedom in his last moments. I only wish we could have done more for you brother!

My great grandkids: tell us how he died Me: no. I will tell you how he LIVED.

Some say at Sunset if you look West you can still see the Sky King in the clouds

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Hi Leute,

der Artikel sollte eigentlich gestern erscheinen, am Todestag von Richard Russell, ich habe allerdings lange mit mir gehadert, wie ich ihn schreiben soll und ob ich gewisse Dinge außen vor lassen soll, (der innere Zensor ist auch bei mir angekommen, wie wahrscheinlich bei jedem, der halbwegs kontroverse Sichtweisen zu irgendeinem Thema hat, welches die technokratische Elite als nicht ganz hygienisch rein erachtet), oder ob ich - wofür ich mich entschieden habe - meinen Gefühlen freien Lauf lasse.
Deswegen kommt jetzt mit einem Tag Verspätung eine Hommage an Beebo Russell, wie er auch genannt wurde.

Flugzeugentführung leicht gemacht

Richard war 29 Jahre alt, als er am 10. August 2018 in ein leeres Flugzeug der Horizon Airline (für die er auch als Gepäckträger arbeitete) auf dem Seattle-Tacoma Flughafen stieg und einfach los flog.
Die Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 war kein kleines Flugzeug und selbst erfahrene Piloten gaben später zu Protokoll, dass es an ein Wunder grenzt, was Beebo in der Zeit nach seinem Start für Kunststücke hinlegte.
Er flog ungefähr eine Stunde lang mit dem von ihm gekaperten Flugzeug, absolvierte einen Looping!!! und alberte in naiv-kindlicher Manier mit dem Air Control Agent herum, der immer wieder versuchte, ihn zu überzeugen, einen sicheren Landeplatz zu finden.
Richard hatte sich über mehrere Jahre an Computerspielen und Simulationen das Fliegen selbst beigebracht und wollte nun aus einem eintönigen, eingefahrenen Leben ausbrechen und einmal wirklich LEBEN. So interpretierte ich es für mich im Verlauft der Zeit.
Zwischenzeitlich flog auch ein Kampfjet neben dem Flugzeug her, doch eingreifen musste er nicht, denn Richard hatte nicht die Absicht, jemand anderen in Mitleidenschaft zu ziehen. Seine Stimme - voller Wärme und erstauntem Enthusiasmus über seinen "Stunt" barg keinerlei negative Austrahlung, sie war komischerweise voller Hoffnung und Glück. So klang jemand, der mit sich im Reinen war, der in diesem Augenblick vollkommen aufging und intensiv das Leben genoss.

Die offiziellen Zeitungsberichte sind allesamt im Internet zu finden. Es wird darüber spekuliert, warum er das Flugzeug stahl und sich am Ende in einem spektakulären Crash auf einer abgelegenen und unbewohnten Insel namens Ketron Island nahe des Flughafens in Puget Sound das Leben nahm.

Ich erfuhr von diesem Ereignis (wie so oft) nicht aus den deutschen Medien, sondern über einen Freund, der mir die ungeschnittene Version der Cockpit-Aufnahmen zusandte, die bis heute von keinen Mainstream-Artikel oder Fernsehbericht aufgegriffen wurden.

Mainstream-Berichte

Ich hörte mir die etwas mehr als eine Stunde währende Aufnahme an und wusste danach nicht, was ich tun sollte. Halb im Schock und halb inspiriert,befand ich mich in einer Art Trance-Zustand..
Die Gefühle, die ich im Laufe der nächsten Tage, sobald ich an die letzten Momente im Leben von Richard denken musste, empfand, sind unglaublich schwer zu beschreiben.
Ich recherchierte im Internet und fand Artikel von CNN, ABC und anderen großen Medienhäusern, die wenig bis nichts aussagten. Sie sprachen von einem Verrückten, dessen Motive unklar seien.
Es waren kurze Artikel unter der Rubrik "Kurioses", die schnell gelesen und verdaut werden sollten, wie es so viele von ihnen gibt, doch mich ließ die Geschichte nicht mehr los.
Die halsbrecherische Aktion von diesem faustischen Teufelskerl hatte mich in ihren Bann gezogen. Ich möchte sogar sagen, sie hatte in mir etwas bewegt oder ausgelöst, dem ich nun auf den Grund gehen musste.

Recherche auf YouTube

Auf YouTube fand ich neben offiziellen Berichten auch einige Videos von kleinen Kanälen, die sich mit dem Freitod von Richard beschäftigten und es waren auch schon ein paar erste Tribute Videos dabei, die mich wissen ließen, dass ich nicht allein war mit meiner... ja, ich möchte es Trauer nennen.
Trauer um einen nie gekannten Freund, einen Seelenverwandten, der scheinbar ähnlich an der modernen Welt litt, wie ich und je tiefer ich in den Kaninchenbau vordrang, desto mehr Brüder im Geiste fand ich.
Es wurden etliche Tribute von Kanälen produziert, die kaum Abonnenten besaßen und bisher unproduktiv waren, was für mich bedeutete, dass sich der oft zitierte "kleine unbedeutende Mann von der Straße" durch dieses Ereignis tief ins Mark getroffen fühlte. Es musste in vielen, desillusionierten jungen und nicht mehr so jungen (vor allem) Männern etwas bis dato Unausgesprochenes ausgelöst haben.

Oswald Spengler sprach vor über 100 Jahren in seinem Monumentalwerk "Der Untergang des Abendlandes" schon von einer "civilizational malaise", die man nur ungenügend mit "Zivilisationskrankheit" übersetzen kann. Es krankt in der westlichen Gesellschaft und die Symptome häufen sich. Ich werde hier und heute nicht politisch, aber ich denke, wir alle empfinden, egal wo wir uns auf der politischen Skala auch wiederfinden, dass sich etwas ändern muss, dass wir als Gesellschaft in einer Sackgasse gelandet sind und dass sich kommende Generationen unserer Bevölkerungen nicht mehr auf das Versprechen des Fortschritts verlassen können.
Die Menschen spüren intuitiv, dass wir in einer Übergangszeit leben, in einem Niedergang einer großen Zivilisation und wir können die kommende Welt mit ihren neu entstehenden Zentren bisher nur erahnen.
Das bahnbrechende Buch von William Strauss "The Fourth Turning" behandelt genau diese Zwischenzeiträume, die es im Laufe der Geschichte immer wieder gegeben hat, wenn eine vorherrschende Zivilisation den Höhepunkt ihrer Blüte erlebt hat und sich im Niedergang befindet. Die Welt ist in Aufruhr, es bilden sich neue Allianzen, mitunter gibt es verheerende Kriege und/oder Bürgerkriege, manchmal gehen die großen Reiche leise und schleppend unter, oft mit einem Knall.
Welches Ende die westliche Zivilisation erleben wird, ist ungewiss. Wache Geister können heutige Tendenzen in die Zukunft extrapolieren und sich dementsprechend etwas besser vorbereiten, als Menschen, die ihr Wissen aus den Abendnachrichten und Quiz-Shows beziehen, aber wie genau und in welchem Zeitrahmen sich der Niedergang vollziehen wird, ist ungewiss.

Ich glaube, Menschen wie Richard "Beebo" Russell sind Frühindikatoren für die kommende Zeit. Ob er wirklich so glücklich war, wie die Zeitungen ihn beschreiben, um eine saubere Story mit einer Portion Mysterium zu kreieren, sei dahingestellt.
Die unendlich vielen Kommentare von tief verzweiftelten, mitunter brutal ehrlichen und oft hoffnungslosen, mir emotional nahe kommenden Gesellschaftsanalysen en miniature und Trauerbekundungen runden eine Ahnung ab, die ich bekam, als sich die packende Heldentat Richards in meine Seele brannte.
Beebo war einer von uns. Einer, der das beruhigende Pflaster von Brot und Spielen lang genug von der rohen Wunde reißen konnte, um ins Grübeln zu kommen.

• You think, after landing it successfully, Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?
• I think, they will give you a job doing anything, if you could pull this off.
• YEAH RIGHT... Nah, I'm a white guy!

Ich möchte jedem, der dies hier liest und sich halbwegs angesprochen fühlt, raten, einen Teil der endlosen Kommentare durchzulesen, um ein Gefühl von der Solidarität zu bekommen, die ich empfand, als ich sie mir vor drei Jahren durchlas.
Jedes Jahr an seinem Todestag gehe ich auf die Suche nach neuen und alten Kommentaren und genau wie vor drei Jahren überkommen mich die Tränen, wenn ich an den finalen Entschluss von Richard denken muss, den er zog, weil er wusste, dass jemand wie er niemals wieder frei sein würde, wenn er die Maschine sicher gelandet hätte. Er entschied sich für die ewige Freiheit und fliegt wahrscheinlich noch heute irgendwo da oben herum und wacht über uns, während seine Legende wächst.

Flieg Hoch, du Himmelsstürmer,
sei frei und ruhe in Frieden.

Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
_{Dylan Thomas}

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Full Audio Transmissions

Auswahl an YouTube Videos, die sich mit der Legende des Sky King beschäftigen.

Keith Woods (one year anniversary hommage and analysis of the myth, the Sky King has become)

Count Dancula - Absolute Mad Lads Series about the Sky King (over 1 million views) ->

NeatoBurrito Productions (Beautiful Song Tribute with Transcript from Audio Transmission) ->

Ta Nea Tou Kanena (Best Song Tribute with song "If I Could Fly") ->

MR. OBVIOUS (Analysis and quick overview) ->

Demiurg (Song Tribute) ->

Whitingbolt (Song Tribute) ->

TomDeath95 (Song Tribute) ->

Sky Kang (Song Tribute with written Commentary) ->

V FOR VICTORY (Synthwave Tribute) ->

Millennial Poster Child (Song Tribute) ->

theguy1991 (Song Tribute with private Pictures of Beebo) ->

UndergroundEdits (Song Tribute) ->

and many, many more.