A pilot who was flying as a passenger is accused of 83 attempted murders for trying to turn off the engines of his plane

An Alaska Airlines pilot, who was traveling as a passenger, has been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after he allegedly tried to shut down the engines of a plane in mid-flight on Sunday.

Joseph Emerson, 44, was detained by the Portland Airport Police Department in the United States, where the plane was forced to land, after a security threat was reported on a flight that had taken off from Everett. (Washington) and was heading to San Francisco (California).

Emerson also faces 83 counts of endangering passengers and crew, and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to Multnomah County Sheriff's Office records, cited by US network NBC.

In a statement, Alaska Airlines said that “the occupant of the jump seat attempted unsuccessfully to disrupt the engines” of the plane operated by Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines.

The airline added that the crew responded quickly, ensuring that engine power was not lost and “secured the aircraft without incident.”

Emerson was sitting in the folding seat in the cockpit behind the pilots. Typically, off-duty airline pilots sit in that seat when they fly back to their home base.

The Federal Aviation Administration sent an alert and clarified that the security incident is not related to terrorist threats arising from international conflicts.. The FBI is investigating the incident.

NBC adds that once the plane landed, Portland police arrested the pilot and that all passengers were able to continue their trip on a later flight.

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