ABC News Studios has released the first trailer for Skyking, offering a measured first look at a documentary built around one of the most unsettling aviation incidents in recent memory. The footage is sparse but deliberate, drawing from real recordings and personal archives without overexplaining its intent. It positions the film as an account rooted in fact, not spectacle.

Here is everything to know about the documentary and the real-life incident that inspired it.

ABC News Studios' documentary thriller Skyking is scheduled to be released on April 14, 2026. The film centers on Richard Russell and arrives after years of development involving close collaboration with his family. The release follows a growing interest in long-form documentary storytelling that revisits widely reported incidents with deeper context, shifting focus from the event itself to the individual at its center.

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But who was Richard Russell beyond the headlines, and what exactly happened on that day?

The documentary reconstructs a life that briefly intersected with global headlines, before slipping into something far more complicated and personal. On August 10, 2018, Richard “Beebo” Russell, a 29-year-old ground service agent, managed to take off in an empty commercial aircraft from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. With no formal aviation training, he remained in the air for over an hour, flying across Washington state before the plane ultimately went down on Ketron Island.

The incident quickly dominated news cycles. Broadcast networks looped the footage, social media turned his final moments into viral fragments, and an online identity “Sky King” began to take shape in real time. 

What often went missing in that coverage was the individual behind the act. Russell had referred to himself, in recorded conversations, as someone struggling internally, language that pointed to a deeper, largely unseen battle. The documentary revisits those moments with context, placing equal weight on who he was before that day.

So how can viewers watch this documentary, and where will it be available?

Skyking will be available to stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the US on April 14. The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 12, a platform often used to introduce documentaries with strong narrative and cultural relevance.

The project drew interest from multiple networks, but director Patricia E. Gillespie ultimately secured the trust of Russell’s family. Over five years, she worked closely with them, including his mother, to ensure the film reflects both the personal loss and the broader misunderstanding that followed the incident.

Drawing from conversations with family members, personal video archives, news footage, and original air traffic control audio, the film pieces together a more grounded account. Rather than reinforcing the mythology that followed, it attempts to examine the circumstances, emotions, and silences that led up to it.

The documentary’s official logline describes Russell’s story as one that came to embody “the hopes, dreams, and despair of the American working class,” framing it within a wider social context rather than as an isolated act. Skyking presents a documented account of a widely discussed event, but with added depth and perspective. 

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Does Skyking succeed in offering a clearer understanding of Richard Russell’s story? Share your thoughts.