An Alaska Airlines jet bound for San Francisco from Everett, Washington, was forced to land in Portland after an off-duty pilot in the cockpit jump seat allegedly reached for the engine fire handles. Officials identified the man as Joseph David Emerson. Alaska Airlines said he sat in an authorized jump seat and unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the engines. A federal official briefed on the case told ABC News that investigators’ early information pointed to him pulling those fire extinguisher handles.
Crew members overpowered him, officials said, then restrained him and cuffed him to a seat. The Port of Portland confirmed he was taken into custody. The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said he faced 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment, and one felony count of endangering an aircraft. Alaska Airlines said the captain and first officer responded at once, power never dropped, and the crew kept control of the plane.
