# Off-duty pilot tries to shut down the engines mid-flight

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 23, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966 "2023-10-23T17:50:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/1 "2023-10-23T17:50:28Z")

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He was riding in the jump seat, presumably on the way home? Thankfully the crew was able to subdue him and he was taken into custody when they landed at Portland. There’s almost certainly a bigger story as to why this guy tried to commit mass murder.

> **[Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot charged with attempted murder after trying to...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-charged-attempted-murder-trying-shut-alaska-airlines-engines-fligh-rcna121681)**
>
> Flight 2059 from Everett, Washington, was bound for San Francisco when it was diverted to Portland, where Joseph David Emerson was booked on 83 counts of attempted murder.

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