The New York Times reports:
An off-duty pilot who was in a jump seat in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight has been charged with more than 80 counts of attempted murder after he tried to disrupt the engines during a flight on Sunday, prompting the plane to divert to Portland, Ore., the authorities said.
Flight 2059, operated by Horizon Airlines, an Alaska Airlines regional subsidiary, left Everett, Wash., around 5:23 p.m. and was headed to San Francisco when it reported “a credible security threat related to an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was traveling in the flight deck jump seat,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement on Monday.
“The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines,” Alaska Airlines said in the statement, adding that the captain and first officer “quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.”
NBC News reports:
The flight crew followed “appropriate FAA procedures and guidance from air traffic control” in landing at Portland International Airport. The flight took off just before 5:30 p.m. local time and landed about an hour later in Portland, according to FlightAware data.
Audio of the plane’s communications with air traffic control reveal an attempt to turn off the plane’s engines.
“As a heads up. We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit. It doesn’t sound like he’s got any issue in the back right now. I think he’s subdued,” the pilot of the plane told air traffic control. “Other than that we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked.”
An off-duty pilot who was in a jump seat in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight has been charged with more than 80 counts of attempted murder after he tried to disrupt the engines during a flight on Sunday, the authorities said.https://t.co/HhkSrgpU9A
— Michael Levenson (@mlevenson) October 23, 2023
