Alaska Airlines cockpit crew ‘wrestled’ with off-duty pilot who allegedly tried to shut down the engines midflight

An off-duty pilot sitting in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco was engaging in “casual conversation” with the pilots when he attempted to grab two handles that would have shut down the plane’s engines, resulting in a physical struggle to subdue him, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday.

The off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot — Joseph Emerson, 44, of California — had told the pilots “I am not OK” as he reached for the handles, the complaint said.

Emerson now faces one count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said.

He is already being held in an Oregon jail on 167 charges, including 83 counts of attempted murder, and is awaiting an arraignment Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities have not said why the veteran pilot attempted to cut fuel from the engines during Sunday’s flight.

After Emerson was forced out of the cockpit and placed in the back of the plane, the federal complaint also said he tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit but was stopped by a flight attendant who placed her hands on top of his.

Passengers on Flight 2059, operated by Alaska Airlines subsidiary Horizon Air, lauded the crew’s quick actions and ability to stop Emerson. He had been sitting in a flight deck jump seat in the cockpit, which is permitted for pilots who may be commuting between airports.

“I made eye contact with him,” passenger Aubrey Gavello said after Emerson was booted from the cockpit and walked to the back of the plane. “It was like one of those soul-chilling, dead in the eyes, just calm and just kind of like he was taking in everyone around him.”

About 35 minutes after takeoff, a flight attendant “frantically” alerted passengers over the loudspeaker that “we have a situation” and that the pilots needed to land the plane, Gavello said.

No details were given, but Gavello said it sounded like a medical-related emergency.

Meanwhile, the flight’s pilot and a co-pilot managed to restrain Emerson, who had to be “wrestled with” for several seconds, according to the federal complaint. Emerson had allegedly tried to pull the engine fire suppression controls, which would have turned off the engines at cruising altitude. (Experts say the ability to quickly turn off an engine may be crucial in emergency situations, such as a fire.)

Gavello said she saw the flight attendant and a man, who at the time no one knew was an off-duty pilot, walking from the cockpit to the back of the plane.

She said the man was in zip ties and the flight attendant was “trying to calm him down, saying that we were going to get him on the ground and everything was going to be OK.”

The man remained seated in the back, Gavello said, and the flight attendant informed the cabin, “I just want to let everyone know they’re safe” and assured the passengers that the plane was not having mechanical issues.

“Her second announcement calmed everyone down,” Gavello said, “and then we landed.”

The plane made an emergency stop in Portland, where police were waiting to board the aircraft and escort Emerson off.

Gavello’s boyfriend, Alex Wood, who said he had slept through the ordeal and only woke up when they were landing, had no clue that it was an Alaska Airlines employee accused of putting lives in peril and only learned more details after seeing news reports Monday morning.

“It’s very scary to know that that person was allowed in the cockpit, in the jump seat, where he was sitting,” Wood said.

“I thought I was being dramatic because I got off the plane and my boyfriend and I weren’t sitting together, and I was like shaking and he was asleep the whole time, so he didn’t know,” Gavello said. “And I was like, am I being so dramatic or was that really traumatizing?”  

Alaska Airlines said it was “grateful for the professional handling of the situation” by the flight crew. The FBI also said it was investigating with support from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Emerson was initially employed by Horizon Air in 2001, and has also worked for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.

A review of his mental state will be part of the investigation, aviation analysts said.

Emerson lives with his wife and young children in the Bay Area community of Pleasant Hill, where a neighbor said he was surprised by the allegations.