(流利说)美国航空公司员工偷窃飞机后坠毁 FBI 将调查其动机

今日导读

8 月 11 日，29 岁的理查德·拉塞尔在皮吉特湾夕阳的沐浴中，完成了他人生中的第一次也是最后一次驾机飞行。一个在周围亲友同事眼中看来温和友善的年轻人，一个勤恳工作的行李搬运工，出乎所有人意料地偷走了一架客机，用一种传奇的方式给自己的人生画下了浓重的最后一笔，并给世界留下了一些有待调查的谜团。今天，我们就来看一看路透社对此事的报道。

带着问题听讲解

Q1: 文中的哪个短语对应中文成语“人烟稀少”？

Q2: 如何理解文中的 “devastate” 一词？

Q3: 联邦调查局 FBI 计划在调查过程中采取哪些行动？

新闻正文

FBI seeks motive after U.S. airline worker steals plane, crashes it

美国航空公司员工偷窃飞机后坠毁 FBI 将调查其动机

A Horizon Air ground service agent got into a Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft on Friday night in a maintenance area at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and took off, Horizon sister carrier Alaska Airlines said.

地平线航空的姐妹公司阿拉斯加航空称，一名地平线航空的地勤人员在周五晚上，溜进了一架庞巴迪 Q400 型涡轮螺旋桨飞机，并驾机起飞。该客机当时正停泊于西雅图塔科马国际机场的维护区域内。

He flew for about one hour, often erratically with attempts at aerial stunts, before crashing onto sparsely populated Ketron Island in Puget Sound, some 25 miles to the southwest. The 29-year-old man was suicidal and appeared to have acted alone, according to authorities. He was believed to have been killed in the crash.

他驾机飞行了大约一个小时，期间飘忽不定地尝试着各种空中特技，最终坠毁于人烟稀少的皮吉特湾中的凯特隆岛，该岛在机场西南方向 25 英里处。根据官方说法，这位 29 岁的涉事男子有自杀倾向，并且是单独行动。他已被认定于飞机坠毁时死亡。

Relatives and co-workers identified the man as Richard Russell of Sumner, Washington. "This is a complete shock to us. We are devastated by these events and Jesus is truly the only one holding this family together right now," the family said.

涉事男子的亲属与同事们认定他的身份为来自华盛顿州萨姆纳市的理查德·拉塞尔。他的家人们表示：“我们对这一事件深表震惊。在这些事情过后我们遭受了重创，现在只有上帝在维系着我们这个家庭。”

Russell was not known to have had a pilot's license, Horizon Air Chief Executive Gary Beck said at a news conference, and it was not clear how he was able to take off and fly as he did. "There were some maneuvers that were done that were incredible maneuvers with the aircraft," Beck said.

地平线航空的首席执行官加里·贝克在新闻发布会上表示，根据当前已知的信息，拉塞尔并没有飞行员执照，目前也尚不清楚他是如何做到驾机起飞并飞行的。贝克说：“他开着这架飞机完成了一些令人难以置信的机动动作。”

In partial recordings of Russell's conversations with air traffic controllers that were published online by Broadcastify.com, he said he was sorry to disappoint people who cared about him and described himself as a "broken guy."

拉塞尔与空中交通管制员的对话的部分录音被 Broadcastify.com 发布在网上。在录音中，他表示他为辜负了关心自己的人而感到抱歉，并且形容自己是一个“垮掉的家伙”。

The FBI is leading the probe, which also includes the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. "We are going to be thorough, which means taking the time needed to scour the area, delve into the background of the individual believed responsible, and review every aspect of this incident with all appropriate public & private partners," the FBI said in a statement.

联邦调查局（ FBI ）正牵头对此事件的调查，调查团队还包括美国联邦航空管理局和美国国家运输安全委员会。 FBI 在其声明中称：“我们将进行彻底的调查，这意味着我们将花费所需的一切时间去彻底搜索事发区域，深挖有关责任人的背景，并与所有合适的国有及私立伙伴一起，重新审视这起事件的方方面面。”

—————  文章来源 / 路透社

重点词汇

turboprop/ˈtɜːrboʊprɑːp/

n. 涡轮螺旋桨发动机

maintenance/ˈmeɪntənəns/

n. 维护 （maintain v.）

erratically/ɪˈrætɪkli/

adv. 不规律地 （erratical adj.）

e.g.

He drove erratically.

aerial/ˈeriəl/

adj. 空中的

e.g.

an aerial force

stunt/stʌnt/

n. 特技

e.g.

Stop your childish stunts now!

sparsely/ˈspɑːrsli/

adv. 稀疏地 （sparse adj.）

e.g.

The museum is sparsely visited.

suicidal/ˌsuːɪˈsaɪdl/

adj. 自杀的 （suicide v.）

e.g.

This new policy could be suicidal for the minister.

devastate/ˈdevəsteɪt/

v. 摧毁；使某人感到震惊和难过

e.g.

The typhoon devastated this fishing village.

maneuver/məˈnuː.vɚ/

n. 机动动作；操作（maneuver v.）

e.g.

diplomatic maneuvers

political maneuvers

maneuver the ship

probe/proʊb/

n. 调查

thorough/ˈθɜːroʊ/

adj. 彻底的

e.g.

a thorough search/clean

scour/ˈskaʊər/

v. 彻底搜索

delve /delv/

v. 深挖