Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder for allegedly trying to shut off engines on Alaska Airlines flight

An off-duty pilot is charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after he allegedly attempted to shut off the engines by means of pulling the hearth extinguisher handles on an Alaska Airlines flight, in accordance to officers.

The airplane used to be scheduled to fly from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco earlier than it diverted overdue Sunday to Portland after a “credible security threat related to an authorized occupant in the flight deck jump seat,” the airline showed to ABC News.

The suspect allegedly attempted to pull the hearth extinguisher handles on the engines, initial information got by means of investigators indicated, in accordance to a federal respectable briefed on the probe. The suspect used to be crushed by means of flight team and subdued after which handcuffed to a seat, the federal respectable informed ABC News.

The suspect, Joseph David (*83*), used to be taken into custody, the Port of Portland showed. (*83*) is charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, in accordance to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. He may be going through 83 counts of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, and one criminal depend of endangering an airplane.

The suspect used to be en direction to San Francisco, the place he used to be scheduled to be on a flight team of a 737, the respectable mentioned.

Alaska Airlines mentioned the off-duty pilot used to be sitting within the flight deck leap seat — which is within the cockpit — and “unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines.”

The captain and primary officer “quickly responded,” Alaska mentioned, including engine energy used to be no longer misplaced and the team secured the airplane with out incident.

There have been 80 passengers and 4 team contributors on the flight, in accordance to Alaska.

The tournament is being investigated by means of regulation enforcement, the airline mentioned. The FBI showed it’s having a look into the incident and “can assure the traveling public there is no continuing threat related to this incident.”

This is a creating tale. Please take a look at again for updates.