An off-duty pilot has been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder — after he allegedly tried to crash a San Francisco-bound Alaska Airlines flight by shutting off the engines.
The pilot, identified by police as Joseph David Emerson, 44, was sitting in the cockpit’s jump seat — located behind the captain and the first officer — when he tried to activate the jet’s fire suppression system midflight, the airline said in a statement.“When pulled, a valve in the wing closes to shut off fuel to the engine.
Flight 2059 was being operated by Horizon Air, a regional carrier owned by Alaska Airlines. It took off from Everett, Wash. shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sunday. “An off-duty employee from another airline caused an inflight disturbance while in the cockpit. The flight crew was able to detain the subject and the flight landed safely at Portland International Airport just before 6:30 p.m.,” according to the Port of Portland Police, who confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
Emerson was booked on a litany of charges, including 83 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft in the first degree, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to the Post.
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