An off-duty pilot has been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, after he allegedly tried to crash a passenger jet during a flight on Sunday night. The suspect was sitting in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight behind the captain and the first-officer, according to an airline statement.
The flight was on its way from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, California, with 80 passengers aboard. It was diverted to Portland, Oregon, and the suspect was subdued without incident, officials said.
In a recording of air traffic control communication, one of the pilots was heard saying: “We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit, and he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now.”
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said all passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight.
A police booking document named the suspect as Joseph David Emerson, 44. In addition to the attempted murder charges, Mr Emerson also faces 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft. He was lodged at Multnomah County Detention Center while the investigation continues.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration sent guidance to US air carriers that the incident was “not connected in any way shape or form to current world events”.
Blimey … that could have ended badly … 
I recall EgyptAir Flight 990 in 1999, when the relief first officer turned off the autopilot and engines, causing the plane to go into a dive and crash into the Atlantic Ocean.
