An Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 jet, just like this one, was pressured to make an sudden touchdown Sunday night time after an off-duty pilot who was driving within the cockpit allegedly tried to disable the plane’s engines.

Ted S. Warren/AP

cover caption

toggle caption

Ted S. Warren/AP

An Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 jet, just like this one, was pressured to make an sudden touchdown Sunday night time after an off-duty pilot who was driving within the cockpit allegedly tried to disable the plane’s engines.

Ted S. Warren/AP

An Alaska Airlines flight was pressured to make an sudden touchdown Sunday night time after an off-duty pilot who was driving within the cockpit allegedly tried to disable the plane’s engines.

“I’ll just give you a heads-up. We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit,” one of many pilots stated to air visitors controllers in audio posted by LiveATC.web. “It doesn’t seem like he’s causing any issue at the back. I think he’s subdued.”

The flight, which was operated by Horizon Airlines, took off from Everett, Wash. round 5 pm Sunday night. The Embraer 175 jet needed to be diverted from San Francisco to Portland, Ore. the place it landed safely.

In an announcement, Alaska Airlines described the incident as “a credible security threat related to an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was traveling in the flight deck jump seat.”

“The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines,” in response to the assertion, earlier than “the crew secured the aircraft without incident. “

It’s routine for off-duty pilots, flight attendants and different airline workers to catch a journey within the soar seat behind the pilot and first officer.

The off-duty pilot was arrested after the airplane landed at Portland International Airport. Authorities there have recognized him as Joseph David Emerson. He’s now dealing with 83 counts of tried homicide, amongst different charges, together with reckless endangerment and endangering an plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s supporting regulation enforcement investigations into the incident.

“All passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight,” Alaska Airlines stated. “We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event.”