An Alaska Airlines flight bound for San Francisco was diverted to Portland, Oregon, after an off-duty pilot inside the flight deck attempted to disable the aircraft engines.
The suspect, 44-year-old Joseph David Emerson, was booked on 83 counts of attempted murder and endangering an airplane, according to Multnomah County Sheriff's Office booking information, after being arrested by Port of Portland police.
"It doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue at the back. I think he’s subdued ... We want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked." Adam Silverthorne, president of California-based NRI Flying Club, said the incident is incongruous with the kind and methodical family man he knew several years ago when Emerson was a club member and provided some flight instruction. A club newsletter mentioned Emerson was at NRI in 2016.