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Human Remains Found At Site Of Stolen Horizon Air Plane Crash Near Seattle

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found human remains at the crash site of the Horizon Air plane an employee stole and wrecked near Seattle.

The FBI has not confirmed the human remains are Richard Russell, 29, the employee suspected of stealing, flying and crashing the 76-seat passenger jet, reported CNN. However, Russell was the only person on board the plane, confirmed the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, according to CNN.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) received the flight data recorder and parts of the cockpit voice recorder, reported CNN.

The plane plowed through trees before crashing and breaking into unrecognizably small fragments.

“You couldn’t even tell it was a plane except for some of the bigger sections, like the wing section,” NTSB Western Pacific Region chief Debra Eckrote said Sunday, according to CNN. “Even the small sections, most of it doesn’t resemble a plane.”

The scorched flight data recorder will be in Washington, D.C., for analysis by Tuesday, reported CNN.

Russell’s family called his actions a “complete shock” and said they would remember him as “a faithful husband, a loving son and a good friend,” reported CNN.

Russell flew the jet for more than an hour while trailed by military planes before crashing in a wooded area south of Seattle on Ketron Island in Puget Sound. He was suicidal, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The plane Russell stole was a Bombardier Q400, reported USA Today.

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