Family of Airplane Thief Speaks; White Nationalists Plan Rally on Sunday; Race in America
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We now know who stole a commercial airliner and crashed it just outside Seattle, Washington.</s>GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And later today, a city on edge. Specifically the U.S. capital, where white supremacists prepare to rally again, this one year after the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.</s>ALLEN (voice-over): Also ahead this hour, NASA launches humanity's first-ever mission to a star. And it's our very own star, the sun.</s>HOWELL (voice-over): It was so cool.</s>ALLEN (voice-over): So cool.</s>HOWELL (voice-over): Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm George Howell.</s>ALLEN (voice-over): I'm Natalie Allen and CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.</s>HOWELL: At 5:01 on the U.S. East Coast, a day after a man steals and crashes a plane from Seattle's main international airport, we're learning new details about who he was and the access he had to that plane.</s>ALLEN: Covering the story 24 hours ago, that was the big question, who did this. This is the man, Richard Russell. His family called him Bebo. Airport officials say he worked for about three years on the ground crew. He was certified to move aircraft and he had clearance to be in secure areas. His family offered this statement through a spokesman.</s>MIKE MATTHEWS, FRIEND OF RUSSELL FAMILY: We are stunned and heartbroken. It may seem difficult for those watching at home to believe but Bebo was a warm, compassionate man. It is impossible to encompass who he was in a press release. He was a faithful husband, a loving son and a good friend.</s>HOWELL: This is what many people saw, watching on there in the Puget Sound. He executed several dangerous stunts as he was pursued by two military jets. Running low on fuel, he crashed on a small island about an hour after taking off. Now investigators say it could take months before they figure out exactly how these events unfolded. What we do know about Russell is that he was apparently in uniform and had worked the shift Friday before stealing the plane. People who worked with him were shocked by what he did. We get more now from CNN's Dan Simon.</s>DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A law enforcement source tells CNN that the 29-year-old Horizon Airline employee has been identified as Richard Russell. We can tell you that Russell is somebody who kept a very active online presence. He recorded YouTube videos, talking about his job. He also had an online blog where he mentioned that, a few years ago, he and his wife operated a bakery somewhere in Oregon. He did work in ground support at the Seattle airport, so what does that mean? We know he loaded and unloaded luggage. He would also tidy up aircraft and it also involved riding a tractor or driving a tractor, where he would put an airplane in the right place for takeoff. That is apparently what he did yesterday before getting in the cockpit, firing up the engines and then having a successful taxi and takeoff. That is very difficult to do under normal circumstances because of the protocols in place. I want you to listen now to the CEO of Horizon Airlines, who spoke out earlier today.</s>GARY BECK, CEO, HORIZON AIR: Normally you would request clearance for pushback, from either your own tower or ground control. You'd then speak with ground control all the way out to the runway. They would turn you over to the tower, who would then clear you for takeoff. And I believe -- in fact, I know that he did communicate on the ground frequency and all of the communications for the entire flight were conducted on that frequency. You're right, there were some maneuvers that were done, that were incredible maneuvers with the aircraft. To our knowledge, he didn't have a pilot's license. So, to be honest with you, I mean, commercial aircraft are complex machines. They're not as easy to fly as, say, a Cessna 150. So I don't know how he achieved the experience that he did.</s>SIMON: I spoke to a former co-worker who worked with Russell. He's shocked that he did this. He said he had a very good sense of humor but he wasn't shocked that he had gained the knowledge in terms of how to operate the aircraft, he said, because being on the tow team, you learn certain things that other employees might not know how to do. When you heard the conversations he was having with --</s>SIMON: -- air traffic control, what went through your mind?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I recognized the voice first. And it was before I could put a face to it. And then, you know, I saw some people posting "Rest in peace, Richard Russell." Then I figured out it was him. And I listened to his voice more carefully during the audio after that. And it was heartbreaking. You could tell he was in pain, kind of seemed a little delusional. And I was just shocked to see that someone who was so nice, so helpful and caring, actually, he cared about his job, to do such a thing and, you know, end his life. So it was a little sad.</s>SIMON: Now as far as what is happening now, I can tell you that, over at the island where the crash occurred, there are dozens of investigators there. They're trying to retrieve those black boxes, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. But what evidence those boxes might yield, we don't know. We already have a ton of evidence because of the conversation between Russell and air traffic control.</s>ALLEN: David Soucie is a CNN safety analyst and former safety inspector for the U.S. Aviation Authority. He joins us now. David, thanks for being with us. We've had a little over one day to digest this unfortunate feat. Grounds crew airline worker backed up a plane, pointed it toward the runway, started it, took off. It still seems somewhat surreal, doesn't it? But it was very real. Do you have any more insight now into how he pulled this off?</s>DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: There's a lot of processes that were overlooked and did not happen that should have happened. I've looked at to see the Seattle processes and procedures for security. And there's no possible way that that guy should have been out there by himself, towing that aircraft for a number of reasons. One is because they need to have somebody in the aircraft with their feet on the brake, ready to stop the aircraft in case anything happens. But that's just one level. And there are two or three other levels of people that should have noticed he was out there by himself.</s>ALLEN: So is this not a gap in just typical airport security? Was this more specific to this airline?</s>SOUCIE: It is. The airline's responsible for that tarmac, for a bad area where the aircraft is. And the fact that all their employees are trained, everybody knows that you don't go out there on the tarmac by yourself, this should not have happened. Even if you look at baggage handlers, if you look at everytime there's somebody driving a baggage cart, there's two people with them. That's -- never should be by himself like this. So there's some things that need to be looked at on that airport and at the airline.</s>ALLEN: So you don't see this as a systemic issue with the industry?</s>SOUCIE: I really don't. I think that the system, the safety system that's in place, has proven by the fact this doesn't happen very often. But I think the safety system's in place. But the fact is, there were people at three different levels that didn't do the right thing. So we first look at performance of the safety mechanisms. And if the performance isn't done properly, then you go back and you look at the individual. But systemic, as you had mentioned, I don't see a systemic problem here. But if is it isn't an individual, if it was something that could have easily been overlooked, then at that point, the system needs to be looked at as well.</s>ALLEN: That's very interesting. We'll wait and see what the investigation bears out there. I want to get your insights into the work of the air traffic control to try to get this young man to land that airplane. Let's listen to a bit of that conversation.</s>RICHARD RUSSELL, AIRCRAFT  MECHANIC: I've got a lot of people that care about me and it's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy. Got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it until now. You think if I land this successfully, Alaska will give me a job as a pilot?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they'll give you a job doing anything if you can pull this off.</s>RUSSELL: Yes, right.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you wanted to land, probably the best bet is that runway just ahead and to your left. That's the McChord field. If you wanted to try, that might be the best way to set up and see if you can land there. Or just like the pilot suggested, another option would be over Puget Sound into the water.</s>RUSSELL: Dang, you talk to McChord yet? Because I don't think I'd be happy with you telling me I could land like that, because I could mess some stuff up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I already talked to them and just like me, what we want to see is you not get hurt or anyone else get hurt. So like I said, if you want to land, that's probably the best place to go.</s>RUSSELL: I want the coordinates of that orca with the -- the mama orca with the baby. I want to go see that guy. Hey, pilot guy, can this thing do a backflip, you think? I'm going to try to do a barrel roll and if that goes good, I'll go nose down and call it a night. Man, have you been to the Olympics? These guys are gorgeous. Holy smokes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's try to land that airplane safely and not hurt anybody on the ground.</s>RUSSELL: All right. Damn it, I don't know, man. I don't know. I don't want to. I was kind of hoping that was going to be it.</s>ALLEN: It's chilling to listen to but the controller states so measure this what they're training to do. Is a rogue pilot part of training? What's your assessment of how they handled the situation?</s>SOUCIE: It was amazing how they kept their cool during the whole time. They didn't get emotional about it, they didn't even raise their voice. You can tell --</s>ALLEN: They were very measured --</s>SOUCIE: -- the training they've had over the years were dealing with this has paid off in this case.</s>ALLEN: Right. Fighter jets were mobilized, David, they were flanking him. But he flew for one hour. One analyst said at CNN, had he wanted to crash the plane into downtown Seattle, the jets weren't going to be able to stop him. Why not? What is their role?</s>SOUCIE: Well, there's some protocol there. So the air -- the National Air Command is what it's called, the National Air Command will send -- they'll scramble their jets and they got out there amazingly quickly. There were there. But as far as stopping him, there's two things that happened, the first protocol is to guide. So they're guiding the aircraft, they're making sure it isn't going into a populated area. The second thing is, if he's headed towards a populated area, then the next step is to move in front of the aircraft and deploy flares. And those flares would divert the aircraft. He'd be trying to avoid flares that are deployed from that jet, is step two. And then step three is, if it is heading that way, that aircraft can be destroyed in the middle of the air. And whoever said that it couldn't be is incorrect. That -- any aircraft can be stopped with those two fighter jets that are up there. They're well equipped and, luckily, they didn't have to go to those extreme measures.</s>ALLEN: Absolutely. But that's good to know. We thank you for your information, David Soucie, CNN safety analyst. Thank you, David.</s>SOUCIE: Thank you, Natalie.</s>HOWELL: Now to the other story that we are following this day, in the hours to come, we are expecting to see rallies of racists in Washington, D.C. This one year after those racist protests that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it seems that these Nazis are preparing to spout their hate once again.</s>ALLEN: In just a few hours, far right groups and white supremacists, Nazis, are planning to gather again, this time in the nation's capital. They will meet right in front of the White House. They're calling it a white civil rights rally. They will not be alone. At least 40 counterprotest groups -- 40 -- plan to show up, too. This comes after Saturday's demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia. Again, no signs of white nationalists there, as hundreds of students and activists, instead, marched peacefully against racism.</s>ALLEN: Though the protests in Charlottesville were peaceful, the crowds were full of emotion.</s>HOWELL: CNN's Kaylee Hartung was there on Saturday with a look at what she saw on how things played out.</s>KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For about three hours on Saturday night we saw students from the University of Virginia and members of the Charlottesville community marching through the streets. It was an eruption of the anger and outrage that so many of them feel because of the failure they perceive by the institutions that they believe should have supported them a year ago, namely the University of Virginia and law enforcement. Now this weekend there's a heavy law enforcement presence. You can see an example of that behind me. Some of these people protesting telling me they don't feel any safer this weekend than they did a year ago. They feel this increased presence, this preparation is essentially an overreaction, a remembering nix recognition of the failures last year, the law enforcement's lack of ability to control the violence and protect them, some going so far as to say they believe law enforcement protected the white supremacists that marched into this town. As I said, this march through the middle of the streets of Charlottesville but it began on the University of Virginia campus in front of the rotunda, the most iconic building on campus. But these students say they were given strict security measures that they were supposed to abide by. They did not want to abide by them, by an institution that has failed them. We're unsure where this leads next as the march conclude as they tried to get near Emancipation Park, the park where General Lee's statue still sits. They said we'll be back tomorrow.</s>HOWELL: Kaylee, thank you for the reporting. Now let's bring in Scott Lucas. Scott a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, live from Birmingham, England. Thank you for your time as always. Talking about the issue of race in America. It can be messy, can be ugly but the diversity of people, it's a key part of the formula that unites and divides. And we now know, according to Republican representative Tom Garrett, who say member of the Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, that Russia used race to sow division in Charlottesville last year. Listen to this exchange.</s>REP. TOM GARRETT (R), VIRGINIA: Let me give you some breaking news here, though, back to Charlottesville. I sat in a closed session briefing probably two months ago about Charlottesville with the director of the FBI, amongst others, and asked if Russian intermeddling had to do with fomenting the flames of what happened in Charlottesville. I was told, yes, it did. I asked, "Is this information classified?" They said, "No, it's not." I've waited until today. But this is what happens. The Russian intermeddling --</s>GARRETT: -- is seeking to pit Americans against Americans.</s>HOWELL: Scott, this is a major headline to say the least with significant implications.</s>SCOTT LUCAS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: It is. But, to be honest with you, George, if you watch Russian state outlets and their allies carefully, it's not new. You can go back to the presidential campaign itself in 2016 and you'd have Russian accounts that were posing as Trump supporters, on the one hand, to try to stir up animosity. And on the other you had Russian accounts that were posing as Black Lives Matter movements or even Antifa to try to stir up division. And anytime you have a Charlottesville, when it did occur last year, Russian state media are on top of this. This is a sign that America's falling apart. This is a sign that race is a dividing line and that America is weakening and that it can't live up to its values. In other words, the Russian exploitation of race is something that goes beyond its alleged support of Donald Trump during 2016 and afterwards.</s>HOWELL: President Trump has weighed in on Twitter. He says that he condemns all types of racism and acts of violence. You see that tweet that was posted most recently. But you'll remember, during a news conference last year, days after the violence in Charlottesville, he added the phrase "on many sides," suggesting a false equivalence between protesters and Nazis. Did this go far enough or did it leave room for him with this many sides silliness?</s>LUCAS: All right. Let's do a checklist here, George. I'm not a racist but LeBron James. I'm not a racist but Don Lemon. I'm not a racist by immigrants are animals, immigrants are vermin. I'm not a racist but Chinese students are threatening the U.S. I'm not a racist but the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, is supporting terrorism. In other words, Donald Trump can't just simply say I'm not a racist and sweep away what has happened the past couple of years anymore than someone who insults me or insults someone of another religion or another race can come up to you and say, hey, buddy, I'm still your friend.</s>HOWELL: OK. So, you know, here in the United States on this day in the coming hours, we're expecting to see Nazis march in this nation's capital, Nazis, the losers of the World War II, who were roundly defeated by brave U.S. veterans and allies around the world. This is not an issue of Right or Left here; whereas, a journalist you don't take a side. It's the difference between right and wrong and somehow the lines seem blurred now for some people.</s>LUCAS: Yes. You know, George, one of my favorite films is "The Blues Brothers." You might remember it back from around 1980s. And there's a whole scene, where the characters, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, drive into across into a neo-Nazi rally, what we might call a white supremacist rally. And all of them scatter and jump into the water. And we all cheered back then. Now we've got white supremacist rallies on the streets and we've got no leadership from the White House. Indeed, one might say that the leader in the White House might have a secret affinity for those rallies and, indeed, that some of his advisers -- who I won't name for now -- do so as well. You know, I hate to say it, but I'd be much rather relying on John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd right now than I would Donald Trump.</s>HOWELL: It is important to point out -- if we could pull the tweet up -- the U.S. president did chime in on this on Twitter. He did say that he condemns all types of racism and acts of violence. Scott, the question many people will have, given what he said last year, did it go far enough? Scott Lucas, thank you so much for your time and perspective today.</s>LUCAS: Thank you.</s>ALLEN: We'll wait and see what happens at these rallies. Again, 40 groups coming out to counter these white supremacists. California is still burning up but firefighters' latest approach battling one of the fires seems to be working. Ivan Cabrera will have the story for us coming up here.