Thread by @GodlessNZ

(1) My thread about the death of 29 year old airline baggage handler Richard Russell after stealing a mid sized passenger aircraft.

frontiersman.com/breaking_news/…

(2) I don't call him Rich, Beebo, or Sky King. He was an ordinary guy with family and friends who are real people, now suddenly #BereavedBySuicide, like I have been several times.

He is not a hero, & his words weren't funny. He transferred his pain onto others, forever.

(3) I don't yet know what caused Richard Russell's pain and suicide, but I suspect investigators will eventually uncover it. IMO news coverage and open discussion are a good thing. Glorifying his actions & giving him credit for his flamboyant exit are not.

(4) The statement from his family is well written, which is hard for the bereaved to do. They never asked for the spotlight. At pains to stress to us that he didn't intend to harm others, the fact is: He could have accidentally killed hundreds of people.

(5) He didn't have the skills needed to keep that aircraft in the air and well away from innocent bystanders on the ground. We are lucky he ended up only killing himself.

Aside from the grief of those who knew him, he caused trauma to those on the radio with him & others.

(6) Every employee of that company will be traumatized by this. Other airlines' pilots, crew & passengers that were told there was a "hijacking" were needlessly traumatized. One aircraft was accelerating to take off and had to brake and abort.

(7) The replacement cost of the aircraft is around $32 million. The impact on the airline and others in the industry is not insignificant. Jobs could be lost. Life savings wiped out.

Whoever's negligence allowed the theft of the aircraft is in a world of trouble right now.

(8) There's nothing inspirational or funny about an adult secretly planning suicide, not getting help, & choosing a method that risks the safety of others & causes negative impacts far greater than most suicides do.

We can't change what he did, but we can choose our responses.