An off-duty pilot is facing dozens of counts of attempted murder after he allegedly tried to shut off a plane’s engines during a flight this weekend, the Associated Press reports.
Joseph David Emerson, 44, is charged with 83 counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities say Emerson was seated in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines plane operated by regional carrier Horizon Air when the incident occurred. At the time, Emerson was employed as a pilot for Horizon Air but was not working.
The plane, Flight 2059, took off shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sunday from Everett, Washington, with 80 passengers and four crew, including Emerson. It was headed to San Francisco, where Emerson was scheduled to serve on the crew of a 737 flight, according to ABC News.
Police say Emerson, situated in the jump seat behind the pilots controlling the plane, attempted to initiate the plane’s fire suppression system, which would have halted fuel from flowing to the engines.
The captain and first officer subdued Emerson and the plane made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in Oregon shortly before 6:30 p.m., where police were waiting.
“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit. I think he’s subdued. We want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground,” one of the pilots said, according to radio audio captured by LiveATC.net.
Emerson also faces 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person, in addition to one count of first-degree endangering an aircraft. He remains in custody in the Multnomah County Detention Center and is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Investigators have not disclosed whether they have established a motive yet.
Emerson is a certified pilot who had just received medical clearance in September. He lives in Pleasant Hill, California, east of San Francisco, with his wife and two young sons in a one-story home on a quiet street, according to KRON-TV.
Neighbors described Emerson as “positive, very friendly, upbeat,” the television said.
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Featured Image: Joseph Emerson/Facebook
