# Grand Theft - Airplane **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419 "2018-08-11T05:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/61 "2018-08-13T19:13:55Z")
Elsewhere on the interwebs, they are making [“Sky King” memes](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sky-king-richard-russell) in response to this event. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/62 "2018-08-13T19:52:35Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > A Redditor from the r/Portland subreddit was out at the airport and took an [impressive pic](https://i.redd.it/mzqhqt8lagf11.jpg) of one of the F-15s scrambling to address the situation. There were multiple reports of sonic booms as the planes went hypersonic and it took them about ten minutes to cover the distance from PDX to Seattle. Pretty impressive. And yes, it’s fully armed with missiles and the like. And that means that the airforce has armed fighters on strip alert ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/63 "2018-08-13T20:02:54Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > And that means that the airforce has armed fighters on strip alert Well you’d feel like a fool if you failed to stop a 767 from crashing into the Space Needle because you took too long loading the sidewinders. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/64 "2018-08-13T21:12:48Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I listened to this last night as it was evolving, and once we were past the part where we might have been worried that he intended to crash it in a crowded place, he struck me as a slightly disturbed, moderately scared young man who hadn’t actually expected to be up in the air like that. Once he was up, he sounded kind of like he felt trapped. That was exactly my take, listening to the VASAvation recordings on YouTube - he sounded like a feckless idiot who stole the plane for lulz, realized he was in way over his head, and tried to go in a way that wouldn’t hurt anyone else. One time he said he was looking for a “moment of serenity”, but that it didn’t come. He didn’t sound mentally ill, just phenomenally stupid. And possibly high. Maybe not appropriate, but listening to the recordings, I thought “Huh. How did Andy from _Parks and Rec_ get a job at SeaTac?” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/65 "2018-08-16T15:52:34Z")
[Fly it like you stole it](https://i.redditmedia.com/AfFZxcaMdY-sYWMtBtdrcHJ-ZhhgedE6GYoUfrfzVeo.jpg?w=771&). ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/66 "2018-08-16T23:15:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Fly it like you stole it](https://i.redditmedia.com/AfFZxcaMdY-sYWMtBtdrcHJ-ZhhgedE6GYoUfrfzVeo.jpg?w=771&). link doesn’t work for me ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/67 "2018-08-17T03:08:16Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > link doesn’t work for me [Here’s the google search](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22fly+it+like+you+stole+it%22+%22puget+sound%22&num=100&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj41uO2jfPcAhVriVQKHa-eC7gQ_AUICygC&biw=1364&bih=970). First image for me. Or try [this link](http://goamswag.com/home/puget-sound-tours-4x4-decal/). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/68 "2018-08-27T21:57:26Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > He said he didn’t plan on landing, which does suggest he was suicidal. He seems like a good guy. He may have done us a favor exposing how easy it is to steal a plane with that job. Imagine if he’d wanted to hurt people. With that in mind, there are numerous flightsim apps which are either free to download or cost next to nothing. Assuming that these flightsims are more or less accurate as to the handling of the various planes they offer for downloading, then it takes about a minute to learn how to take off. Landing is much, much harder. - S.o.P. Scores of take-offs successfully completed in Infinite Flight. Zero landings successfully completed in Infinite Flight. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419/69 "2018-08-27T22:09:00Z")
ETA: Do the airlines run periodic test/maintenance flights on some or all of their fleet, and if so, do mechanics ride along?\* If so that would have been another way that Richard Russell might have picked up some of the basics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-airplane/819419.md?page=3)