Off-duty pilot accused of trying to disable jetliner faces first court hearing
(Reuters) — An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet on a weekend flight over the Pacific Northwest was due to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, where he faced 83 counts of attempted murder.
Joseph David Emerson (NYSE:EMR), 44, was arrested on Sunday in Portland, where the twin-engine aircraft landed safely after it was diverted during what the airline called a «credible security threat» on a flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco.
Emerson was off-duty at the time and riding as a validated «jump seat» passenger in the cockpit of the plane — a routine mode of transport for commercial airline pilots hitching flights back home or to their next assignment, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
He was booked into jail on 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to a spokesperson for the local prosecutor in Portland.
Formal charges were expected to be filed on Tuesday in Multnomah County court in Portland, where the suspect was due to appear for an afternoon arraignment and enter a plea, the spokesperson added.
Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 was operated by Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) Group's regional subsidiary Horizon Air, the carrier said.
The FAA told U.S. airlines in a notice seen by Reuters that the off-duty pilot had sought to disable the engines of the Embraer 175 by attempting to activate the engines' fire-suppression system while the plane was at cruise altitude.
«The crew was able to subdue the suspect and (he) was removed from the flight deck,» the FAA notice said. The engines were never disabled, Alaska said.
An FAA pilot
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