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Pilot tried to shut down engines in flight

Apparently the FAA suspects other crashes were deliberate too. Nice to know.

An off-duty pilot is accused of trying to shut down the engines of a Horizon Air jet in midflight.

By DAVID KOENIG AND CLAIRE RUSH
ASSOCIATED PRESS • October 23, 2023

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/...-11803772.html

Quote:

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, according to a pilot flying the plane.

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, Ore., where it was met by officers from the Port of Portland, who took Emerson into custody.

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 the captain and co-pilot reacted quickly, “engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.” Alaska said in a statement that 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. It was not clear Monday whether he was represented by a lawyer.

There have been crashes that investigators believe were deliberately caused by pilots. Authorities said the co-pilot of a Germanwings jet that crashed in the French Alps in 2015 had practiced putting the plane into a dive.

In 2018, a Horizon Air ground agent stole an empty plane at Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle and crashed into a small island in Puget Sound after being chased by military jets that scrambled to intercept the plane. The man told an air traffic controller that he “wasn’t really planning on landing” the aircraft, and described himself as “a broken guy.”

Sunday’s incident occurred on a 76-seat Horizon Air Embraer 175 that left Everett, Washington, at 5:23 p.m. local time and landed in Portland an hour later. Alaska Airlines did not immediately say how many passengers were on board.

Alaska said passengers continued on to San Francisco on a later flight.

When the jump seat, a third seat in the cockpit, is occupied it’s often filled by an off-duty pilot, but the seat can be used by other airline employees or federal safety inspectors.

A suicide attempt ?

Markus

It has been reported he was suffering a nervous breakdown, had taken psychedelic mushrooms two days earlier and had not slept in 40 hours.

My issue is why did the two duty pilots allow anyone into the cockpit? After 9/11, that's a no-no. The admission of consuming psychedelic mushrooms will remove his pilot certificate permanently. I think the DA is pushing it with the attempted 80+ murder charges when it's clearly an insomniac(40 hours of no sleep??! & mushrooms?) nutcase. He can drive a cab for the rest of his career...and I'll avoid Alaska Air from now on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aktungbby (Post 2889468)

When I read mushrooms then 40 hours of no sleep. It can have that affect on some (not all) people bet he must have taken a massive dose, not very bright.

Quote:

My issue is why did the two duty pilots allow anyone into the cockpit?

He was an off duty company pilot, and company policy allows them to ride in the jump seat if it is available, which in this case it was. He was traveling to the San Francisco area to join a crew for a flight. He is still awaiting federal charges last I heard, and these are only state charges right now.

Edit to add: It was reported today that once they got him in the back of the plane, he tried to open the emergency door and had to be handcuffed to stop further attempts to disrupt the flight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockstar (Post 2889469)

When I read mushrooms then 40 hours of no sleep. It can have that affect on some (not all) people bet he must have taken a massive dose, not very bright.

The lack of sleep alone could do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aktungbby (Post 2889468)

My issue is why did the two duty pilots allow anyone into the cockpit? After 9/11, that's a no-no.

It's extremely common for airline pilots to commute this way. Lot of times guys will use it to commute to and from their airline base if they don't live there. Several buddies of mine do this and 9 times out of 10 its never an issue, but here we have that one...

Quote:

The admission of consuming psychedelic mushrooms will remove his pilot certificate permanently.

I think even without the mushroom bit, he'd likely never fly again in the US. Unsure how other countries aviation regs interpret things, but attempting to disable an aircraft in-flight with passengers aboard is pretty damning.

I'm not sure about the Embraer but I do know that some aircraft have reversible fire handles, so at least if this were to happen on some other aircraft it might just be an issue of restarting the engine. I'll have to ask a buddy if the E175 has a reset-able fire shutoff handle

...after this, I think deadheading pilots will remain out of the flightdeck/cockpit...ie: an extension of the 'sterile cockpit rule' already SOP 'twixt the pilot and co-pilot during flight. I've run this past a few of my collegate exROTC now-retired airline pilot buddies and they concur.