PORTLAND, Ore. — An off-duty pilot riding in the extra seat in the cockpit of a Horizon Air passenger jet tried to shut down the engines in midflight and had to be subdued by the crew, a pilot flying the plane told air traffic controllers.
Authorities in Oregon identified the man as Joseph David Emerson, 44. He was being held Monday on 83 counts each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
The San Francisco-bound flight on Sunday diverted to Portland, Oregon, where it was met by officers from the Port of Portland, who took Emerson into custody. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, which owns Horizon, a regional carrier, did not name Emerson, but said Monday that the threat was posed by one of its pilots who was off duty but authorized to occupy the cockpit jump seat.
The airline said in a statement that the captain and co-pilot “quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.” Alaska said no weapons were involved.
One of the pilots told air traffic controllers that the man who posed the threat had been removed from the cockpit.
“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, and I think he’s subdued,” one of the pilots said on audio captured by LiveATC.net. “Other than that, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked.”
The FBI office in Portland said it was investigating “and can assure the traveling public there is no continuing threat related to this incident.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was helping law enforcement investigations, but declined further comment about the incident.
FAA records indicate that Emerson has a valid license to fly airline planes. Property records show that he owns a house in Pleasant Hill, California, about 30 miles east of San Francisco. The Associated Press tried to reach his family members but was unsuccessful.
The Multnomah County sheriff’s office, district attorney’s office and public defender’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether Emerson had an attorney to comment on his behalf.
The FAA, in an alert to airlines, said a jump-seat passenger tried to disable the engines by deploying the engine fire-suppression system.
“It is not hard to activate the fire handles — you want them to be accessible in case of an engine fire,” said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and now a safety consultant. He said it is possible to restart the engines once the fire handles are returned to their normal position.
“This is an extremely rare event. In 53 years, I have never heard of a jump-seat rider attempting to shut down engines,” Cox said. He said the third pilot can be invaluable in cases where a crew must deal with a complex situation.