Richard Russell, the hijacker of the Horizon Air Turboprop plane, performed dramatic loops, before crashing in a nearby wooded area.

Witnesses saw the aircraft go into a full loop before flying close to the water. One witness captured the moment the plane hurtled towards the water, before looping up towards the sky again.

An hour after his take off, Russell plunged into Ketron Island, 40 kilometres south-west of the airport.

He died in the crash, but no one else is believed to have been injured,

The 29-year-old man took control of the plane with a pushback tractor, so he could board and take off from Sea-Tac International Airport on Friday, 10 August.

Authorities have said it is unclear how the man had the skills to perform the loops, as he didn’t have a pilot’s license.