An Alaska Airlines pilot was arrested on Sunday (22) on charges of attempted murder of more than 80 passengers and crew members after he allegedly attempted to shut down a plane’s engines in midair. He was off duty and traveling as a passenger on the plane.
Flight QXE2059 departed Everett, Washington, bound for San Francisco at 5:23 p.m. (local time) on Sunday, Alaska Airlines said in a statement.
It was operated by Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, but had to be rerouted due to a safety hazard related to a person occupying an auxiliary seat in the cockpit, NBC News has learned.
“The jump seat occupant tried unsuccessfully to turn off the engines. “Horizon’s captain and first officer responded quickly, engine power was not lost, and the crew secured the aircraft without incident,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement sent to the press.
The flight, which took off around 5:30 p.m. (local time) on Sunday, had to be diverted, according to FlightAware, and landed safely at Portland Airport around an hour later.
An offduty company pilot was identified as responsible for the incident. The cockpit booster seat is generally used by pilots who are off duty, returning from travel, or flying to airports to begin their air travel.
An audio recording containing excerpts from the plane’s communications with air traffic control reveals an attempt to shut down the plane’s engines, a twinengine Embraer 175 engine:
“Danger. We have the guy here who tried to turn off the engines from inside the cab. It doesn’t look like he has any back problems at the moment once we’re on the ground and parked,” reads an excerpt from the conversation between the plane’s pilot and the control tower.
After landing, the offduty pilot, Joseph David Emerson, 44, was arrested by Portland Airport police, according to information obtained by NBC News.
According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, he was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of unlawful and reckless conduct and one count of endangering aircraft.
The FBI said it was investigating the case and noted that no injuries had been reported. The agency said it could “assure U.S. aviation users that there is no ongoing threat related to this incident.” Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was “in communication with Alaska and Horizon airlines” and “supporting law enforcement investigations.”
The FAA sent a warning to airlines after the Horizon Air incident, saying: “A passenger authorized to use the jump seat on the flight deck attempted to shut down the aircraft’s engines at cruising altitude by triggering the fire suppression system in the engine.”
The crew ultimately managed to “subdue the subject,” remove him from the flight deck, redirect the aircraft and land safely, the warning said. In a second statement, the FAA clarified that the safety event was not related to current world events.
All passengers were able to travel on a later flight to their original destination: the city of San Francisco.