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“The occupant of the jump seat attempted to interfere with the operation of the engines to no avail,” the company said.
Published on October 23, 2023 10:23 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
An Alaska Airlines plane in March 2023. (TAYFUN COSKUN / ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)
A plane crash in the USA narrowly avoided? An Alaska Airlines pilot who was off-duty but sitting in a jump seat in the cockpit on a commercial flight has been charged with attempted murder by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department in Portland. According to the company, the man allegedly attempted to shut down the plane’s engines mid-flight.
Horizon Air’s Embraer E-175 was en route from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco when the incident occurred on Sunday, October 22nd. The plane, which was carrying 80 passengers, was diverted to Portland, Oregon, where it landed safely.
According to Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air pilots reported “a credible safety threat associated with an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was sitting in the jump seat in the cockpit.”
“The occupant of the jump seat attempted to interfere with the operation of the engines to no avail,” the company said. “Horizon’s captain and co-pilot responded quickly, engine power was not lost, and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.”
Alaska Airlines has not identified the person, but a man named Joseph Emerson, 44, was charged Monday by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department in Portland with 83 counts of attempted murder, endangering others and endangering an aircraft. Investigations into the matter are ongoing. Many airlines allow off-duty pilots to sit in the cockpit jump seat, a seat directly behind the pilots.
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