Man Jumps Pilot in Cockpit, Attempts to Shut Down Plane Engines

How, in a post-9/11 world, can someone jump pilots on an airline? Did someone dump some crazy pills in the Seattle area water supply or something even more nefarious? Seattle’s got gangs of hoodlums attacking schools, mobs of armed, masked men attacking students, Nazis parading with their Hamas flags, and now there’s the story about an off-duty pilot trying to take over a commercial airplane and kill everyone. It’s unclear what the motive was at this point.

The off-duty pilot was deadheading in the extra jump seat in the cockpit of a Horizon Air Embraer 175 commuter plane heading from Everett to San Francisco on Sunday evening. After the plane moved south past Portland, as you can see from the FlightRadar24 image below, it was turned around after the man tried to shut down the engines and crash it, reports say.

My Northwest reported that following a struggle in the cockpit, one of the pilots reported the incident to the tower asking that they be allowed to stop in Portland to get the guy, identified as Joseph David Emerson, off the plane.

“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit,” the pilot told the tower. They sat him in the back of the plane, and the pilot reported to the tower that he “doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now, and I think he’s subdued,” reported the AP. “Other than that, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked.”

Reuters reported that Emerson tried to deploy the plane’s fire suppression system, but there was no official confirmation of that claim.

The plane was successfully diverted and no one was hurt.

Law enforcement carted away the hopefully former airline pilot to jail, where he’s facing 83 federal counts of attempted murder and reckless endangerment.

One man is under arrest on state charges, booked by the Port of Portland, after an incident in the air on Horizon Air flight 2059 from Everett, Washington to San Francisco, California. See full #FBIPortland statement below: pic.twitter.com/G8vtST51ZJ

— FBI Portland (@FBIPortland) October 23, 2023

Defund-the-police Portland might actually keep him in jail for a minute.

Alaskan Airlines, which owns Horizon Air, issued a statement after the incident, saying in part, that the incident was a “credible security threat” and that the “jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines. The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.”

omg, a pilot tried to shut down engines in airplane." 🤯🤯

"Horizon Air plane diverted to PDX after off-duty pilot in cockpit tries to shut down engineshttps://t.co/Ccrs2l7BYA

— Majick Annie Panda, Practicing Ghost 👻 (@woutgorge1111) October 23, 2023

One sharp-eyed Twitter/X user tracked down what appears to be Emerson’s social media profile, which was last updated in 2022 and included support for walkouts by pilots and appeals to congressional leaders to help out pilots in post-pandemic times.

The future of air travel remains highly depressed. Immediate relief for the #airline industry is critical @SpeakerPelosi, @SenateMajLdr, @RepDeSaulnier, and @WhiteHouse to support our economic rebuilding. Don’t let our voices go unheard!

— Joe Emerson (@jophusdavid) December 11, 2020

NBC reports that Emerson was “hired by Horizon Air in 2001 and since then has been employed by Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.” The FAA said that the attempted takedown of the plane was not related to “current world events.”

Deadheading on a flight is routine in aviation, but after this incident, perhaps someone will rethink the wisdom of putting a stranger — even a fellow pilot — in the cockpit.

All the passengers on board were unhurt and booked onto other flights but were probably in need of a stiff drink and a new pair of underwear.