An Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Francisco, US, had to make an unscheduled landing in Portland after an off-duty pilot who was in the cockpit he tried to turn off the plane’s engines. The man was stopped and detained before he could do so, then being escorted from the cockpit, and after his arrest in Portland the plane took off again, completing the journey to San Francisco. There was no damage or injuries.
The off-duty pilot was sitting on the jump seat, a third seat in the cabin in addition to those of the two pilots: it is a frequent practice for flight personnel to travel on a flight of their own airline to return home after finishing their shift in another city, and off-duty pilots generally choose to travel in the cockpit. The man who tried to turn off the engines was arrested and is being investigated for 83 counts (one for each other person on board the plane) of attempted murder, dangerous conduct and endangering the plane.
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