A Horizon aircraft in a file image.David Zalubowski (AP)
Pilot Joseph David Emerson was arrested and charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after he attempted to shut down the engines of a flight operated by regional airline Horizon Air, owned by Alaska Airlines. The incident occurred Sunday afternoon on Flight 2059 en route between Everett outside Seattle, Washington, and San Francisco, California. Emerson, off duty but in the cockpit, rushed to the controls to try to shut down the turbines. The other two pilots overpowered him and diverted the ship to make an emergency landing in Portland, where Emerson was arrested by police in Multnomah County, Oregon.
“Horizon’s captain and first officer responded quickly,” Alaska Airlines, owner of the regional airline where the incident occurred, said at around 5:23 p.m. The company assured in a statement that the engines had not lost power and that the crew managed to subdue Emerson, who took a seat behind the plane’s pilots, “without incident.” After the accident he was taken to the stern of the ship.
“We have the guy who tried to turn off the engines outside the cabin. And at the moment there doesn’t seem to be any problems there. “I think he got overwhelmed,” one of the pilots was heard saying in one of the messages to the control tower recorded by LiveATC.com, a site that broadcasts audio from aviation professionals. “Otherwise we would like there to be police as soon as we land and park,” the captain adds in the recording.
The FBI office in Portland assured that there was no further threat to travelers at this airport. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it was cooperating with authorities in the investigation into the incidents, but declined to provide further details. Upon landing, Emerson was arrested and charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, as well as reckless conduct and endangering a federal vessel.
Little is known about the 44-year-old Emerson. The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper claims he lives in Pleasant Hill, a town east of San Francisco. The suspect’s neighbors expressed surprise and disbelief this Monday after the facts became known. He is known in his neighborhood as a family man who has two children and, in addition to being a commercial pilot, has taught as a certified instructor at the NRI flying club for five years. “He’s a completely normal guy,” Adam Silverthorne, the NRI’s vice president, told the newspaper. “I don’t know what’s going on in his life,” he added. Emerson used social media to support the chapter of the pilots’ union he belonged to and to spread calls for strikes and protests for better conditions. His life took a violent turn that Sunday.
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