This is a good reminder of both why they take you out of the cockpit forever if you so much as hint that you may have any sort of mental/emotional issue, and why we need better processes in place to solve the problems that lead pilots to that breaking point.
It shouldn’t have gotten to the point where one wobbly Jenga brick in the stack kept 83+ people from dying that day.
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An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency diversion to Portland, Oregon, on Sunday after an off-duty pilot in the cockpit unsuccessfully tried to shut down the plane’s engines midflight, according to officials and a source who confirmed details to CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave.
A suspect, identified as Joseph Emerson, was taken into custody by police and charged with attempted murder after the plane landed safely at Portland’s airport, officials confirmed to CBS News.
According to online jail records from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Emerson, 44, is facing multiple charges including 83 counts of attempted murder.
The airline said an off-duty Alaska pilot, later identified by officials as Emerson, was traveling in the jump seat in the cockpit and unsuccessfully tried to “disrupt the operation of the engines.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed gratitude on social media to the flight crew and air traffic controllers who safely got the plane to Portland.
The group said pilots in North America are “continuously evaluated throughout their careers” through medical exams, random flight checks by the FAA and other initiatives.
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