Passengers Subdue Man Attempting to Shut Down Plane Mid-Flight

A person occupying an extra seat in the cockpit of a Horizon Air passenger plane tried to shut down the plane’s engines mid-flight, and the two pilots had to subdue him.

The two pilots diverted the San Francisco-bound flight Sunday to Portland, Oregon, where it was met by law enforcement officers.

Alaska Airlines, which owns Horizon, said Monday that the crew reported a “confirmed security threat related to the occupant of a jump seat on board.”

The accident occurred on a Horizon Air flight that departed Everett, Washington, at 5:23 p.m. local time and landed in Portland an hour later.

Reuters reported that one of the pilots told air traffic controllers that the man who posed the threat was arrested in the cockpit.

The pilot added in an audio recording, “We took the guy who tried to turn off the engines out of the cockpit. He doesn’t seem to be causing any trouble now, and I think he’s under control. Other than that, we want law enforcement personnel as soon as we land.”

The 44-year-old man, Joseph David Emerson, was booked on 83 counts of attempted murder and recklessly endangering an aircraft, according to Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office booking information.

The accident occurred on board a 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft. Alaska Airlines did not immediately say how many passengers were on board.

The FAA told airlines in a separate notice Monday that the incident was “in no way related to current world events” but said it was “always good practice to maintain vigilance.”

It is standard practice for off-duty pilots to sit in special seats during their return flights, or to an upcoming flight mission they will be flying.

Alaska Airlines said all passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight.

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2023-10-23 17:33:15