Off-Duty US Pilot 'Tries To Shut Down' Plane's Engine Mid-Air, Arrested

An off-duty pilot was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after he allegedly shut down the engine of an Alaska Airlines flight from Washington to San Francisco.

An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly tried to shut down the plane’s engines in the flight. The incident occurred on Sunday when the Horizon Air Embraer E-175 was flying from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, as per a statement by parent company Alaska Airlines, reported AFP. 

The flight, carrying 80 passengers, was diverted to Portland, Oregon, where it landed safely.

As per the statement, the pilots aboard the Horizon Air reported a “credible security threat related to an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was travelling in the flight deck jump seat."

In a recording of air traffic control communication, one of the pilots was heard saying: "We've got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit, and he doesn't sound like he's causing any issue in the back right now,” as per a BBC report. 

"The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident,” it added. 

A police booking document named the suspect Joseph Emerson, 44 who has been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and endangering an aircraft by the  Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Portland on Monday, according to the AFP report.

ABC News reported that the suspect was en route to San Francisco, where he was scheduled to be on a flight crew of a 737. 

‘Didn’t Know Anything Was Happening, Handled Very Calmly’ 

The passengers onboard the flight said they knew nothing about the incident until an announcement was made by the flight attendant. "We didn't know anything was happening until the flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and made an announcement that there was an emergency situation and the plane needed to land immediately," passenger Aubrey Gavello told ABC News. 

About 15 minutes later, she got back on and said that there was a medical emergency."

Passenger Alex Wood said the pilot announced that "there was a disturbance in the cockpit."

"It was very professional, handled very calmly, and we didn't really know what was going on until we landed," Wood added.