The Alaska Airlines flight was forced to land abruptly on Sunday night, after an off duty pilot sitting in the cockpit, allegedly tried to shut down the engines of the plane.
“I’ll let you know. We’ve got the man who attempted to turn off the engines outside the cabin,” One of the pilots told air traffic controllers on audio recorded by LiveATC.net. “It seems like he’s not doing anything to cause any problems on the rear. I’m thinking he’s calm.”
The flight, run through Horizon Airlines, took off from Everett, Wash. around 5pm on Sunday night. The Embraer 175 jet had turn around from San Francisco to Portland, Ore. and was able to land safely.
In an announcement, Alaska Airlines described the incident as “a legitimate security threat relating incident involving an off duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was travelling from the cockpit jump seat.”
“The person who was in the jump seat unsuccessfully attempted to stop the engines’ operation,” according to the statement. Then “the crew was able to secure the aircraft with no problem. ”
It’s common for pilots who are off duty or flight attendants, as well as other staff of airlines to get an ride in the seat of a jump behind the first officer and pilot.
The pilot who was not on duty was detained when the plane touched down on Portland International Airport. The airport authorities have identified the man as Joseph David Emerson. He is currently facing 83 charges of attempted murder. He’s also facing many other charges including reckless endangerment as well as threatening an aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration saidit supports investigation by law enforcement agencies regarding the incident.
“All passengers aboard were able to board an earlier flight” Alaska Airlines said. “We appreciate the professionalism and handling of the incident by the Horizon crew, and we thank our guests for their patience and calm throughout this incident.”
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