The incident occurred on October 22 on Horizon Air’s Embraer 175. There were 80 passengers on board, including several children aged 2 and under, and 4 crew members. The plane took off from Everett City, Washington State – USA at 5 pm (local time) and landed in Portland City, Oregon State an hour later.
On October 24, according to the Associated Press, Oregon state officials identified the pilot who caused the crash as 44-year-old Joseph David Emerson.
Horizon Air Embraer 175 flight itinerary: departure from Washington state and landing in Portland. Photo: AP
A pilot informed air traffic controllers that Mr. Emerson was taken out of the cockpit by the crew and handcuffed in the back of the plane. “I want to contact the authorities as soon as we land,” the pilot said in the recording obtained by the website. LiveATC.net Collected.
The original destination of the flight was San Francisco, California, but then had to be redirected to Portland, Oregon. Here, Mr. Emerson was arrested by the Portland Airport staff.
According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon, Mr. Emerson was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder and reckless endangerment, as well as 1 count of endangering an aircraft. He will appear in court on October 24.
Alaska Airlines is the company that owns Horizon Air. Photo: Embraer SA
The US Federal Aviation Administration later said that a passenger in the passenger seat tried to shut down the plane’s engine by activating the fire suppression system. Alaska Airlines, which owns Horizon Air, also announced on October 23 that an incident was caused by a pilot who was outside the airline’s working hours. However, the company did not directly mention Emerson by name.
“The pilot and co-pilot responded immediately, the engines did not shut down, and the crew safely secured the aircraft without incident,” the statement said. Additionally, there was no presence of weapons.
US Federal Aviation Administration records show that Mr. Emerson holds a legal pilot’s license. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in Portland is investigating the case.
Ms. Bailey Beck, a passenger on the flight, described on page sfgate: “It was very strange because no announcement was made to the passengers. The man came out of the cockpit and went to the back of the plane. After that, he was handcuffed to the barrier and there was no trouble.” Again” .
Airlines use a third seat – also called a spare seat – for pilots on the next flight. Many US airlines also allow pilots from other airlines to sit in this seat, at least for domestic flights.
“This is an extremely rare occurrence. In 53 years, I have never heard of someone sitting in the passenger seat trying to shut down the plane’s engine” – Mr. John Cox, a former pilot who now works as a safety consultant Let’s work. All flying, commenting.
According to Mr. Cox, the fire extinguisher system on the aircraft is easy to activate, but the aircraft can also be restarted if the fire extinguisher lever returns to its original position. He also believes that a third pilot will be very useful when the crew encounters complex situations.
Extra seat in the cockpit of an airplane. Photo: Metropolitan Airport News
