Horizon Air Flight 2059

Horizon Air Flight 2059 was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Horizon Air for Alaska Airlines that was traveling from Paine Field in Everett, Washington to San Francisco International Airport on October 22, 2023, when an off-duty pilot deadheading in the jump seat of the cockpit reportedly attempted to crash the plane by disabling its engines. The Embraer 175 aircraft was operating at 31,000 feet (9,400 m) when the suspect, Joseph David Emerson, reportedly attempted to deploy the engine fire suppression systems, which could cut the fuel supply and cause a flameout. The crew reset the fire suppression systems, subdued him, diverted to Portland International Airport in Oregon, and landed without incident. Emerson was arrested and charged with 83 counts of attempted murder.

Horizon Air Flight 2059
N660QX, the aircraft involved, seen 25 days before the attempted hijacking.
Hijacking
DateOctober 22, 2023 (2023-10-22)
SummaryAttempted suicide hijacking, subsequent emergency landing
SiteIn-air; near Portland, Oregon, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft typeEmbraer 175
OperatorHorizon Air
IATA flight No.QX2059[1]
ICAO flight No.QXE2059[2]
Call signHORIZON 2059
RegistrationN660QX
Flight originPaine Field, Everett, Washington
DestinationSan Francisco International Airport, San Francisco
Occupants84
Passengers80 (including the accused)
Crew4
Injuries0

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Embraer 175LR, with Manufacturer Serial Number 17000948 and registration N660QX. The aircraft was only four months old at the time of the incident, having first flown on June 16, 2023, and delivered to Horizon Air on June 28, 2023.[3]

Incident

Flight 2059 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington and was traveling to San Francisco International Airport.[4][5] The flight was operated by Horizon Air, a regional airline, owned by Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, who marketed and sold the seats on the flight. The aircraft carried four crew members (the captain and first officer on the flight deck and two flight attendants in the cabin) along with 80 passengers, including an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, Joseph David Emerson, who was deadheading, sitting in the jump seat of the flight deck.[1]

As the aircraft was flying south near Portland, Oregon, Emerson exclaimed "I'm not OK" and pulled the two "T-handle" controls that engage the fire suppression system for each of the aircraft's engines. If the T-handle is fully deployed, a valve shuts off fuel flow to the engine. In a statement, Alaska Airlines said the crew was able to quickly reset the T-handles, ensuring engine power was not lost.[6] Flight attendants put Emerson in wrist restraints for 30 seconds before Emerson walked calmly to the back of the plane after being told to leave the cockpit and told a flight attendant, "You need to cuff me right now or it's going to be bad," the affidavit said. Another flight attendant heard him saying, "I messed everything up" and "tried to kill everybody."[7] Shortly after the incident took place, while the plane was still in the air, the pilot told air traffic control, "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 issues in the back right now."

The flight was diverted to Portland International Airport.[5] As the plane descended, Emerson allegedly "tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit" but was stopped by a flight attendant, prosecutors said.[8] According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, no injuries took place during the incident.[9]

Aftermath

Emerson, a 44-year-old airline pilot who was born in Washington State and had been living in Pleasant Hill, California since 2008,[10] was later charged with 83 counts of attempted murder and 83 counts of reckless endangerment, two counts for each of the 83 people on board, not including Emerson, in addition to one count of endangering an aircraft. The FBI stated that it "can assure the traveling public there is no continuing threat related to this incident."[11]

Emerson, who had a wife and two sons, was first officer for Horizon Air (part of the Alaska Air Group) from August 2001 until he moved to Virgin America in June 2012. He became an Alaska Airlines first officer following Alaska's acquisition of Virgin America in 2016. He was promoted to captain in 2019.[12]

In a statement after the incident, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg stated that he was "grateful for the professional flight crew and air traffic controllers who stepped up to guide this plane safely to Portland. FAA supports law enforcement in their response and will be focused on any safety considerations for the future that emerge from investigations".[13]

According to a probable cause statement filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court and reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Emerson told the Port of Portland Police Department following his arrest that he had been struggling with severe depression for the previous six months, and he started taking magic mushrooms to manage his grief after the death of a friend.[14][15] Emerson reported last consuming the mushrooms about 48 hours before the flight; according to The New York Times, it was unclear if he was given a drug test after being detained, and an outside expert said that the mushrooms should have been completely out of his system within a day of consumption.[15] According to the complaint, Emerson told investigators that he started feeling unwell before the incident, he started to think that "the pilots weren't paying attention", and he pulled the T-handles because he thought he "was dreaming" and he wanted to "wake up."[15]

After Emerson was taken into custody, the passengers boarded another Horizon Air E175 to San Francisco.[1] The plane involved in the incident returned to service the next day.[2] Horizon Air continues to use flight number 2059 on the same route.[16]

See also

References
  1. Hradecky, Simon (October 23, 2020). "Incident: Horizon E175 near Portland on Oct 22nd 2023, credible security threat by jumpseater, tried to shut both engines down". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  2. "Flight history for aircraft – N660QX". Flightradar24. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  3. "N660QX Alaska Airlines Embraer ERJ-175". Planespotters.net. September 27, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  4. Shepardson, David (October 23, 2023). "Alaska Airlines flight diverts after off-duty pilot attempts to disable engines". Reuters. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  5. Muntean, Pete (October 23, 2023). "An off-duty pilot tried to take control of Alaska Airlines flight before being subdued, source and airline say". CNN. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  6. "Our Statement: Alaska Airlines Flight 2059" (Press release). Alaska Air Group. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  7. "AP reporting the full incident on Flight 2059". Associated Press. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  8. Maile, Amanda; Shapiro, Emily (October 24, 2023). "More details emerge after off-duty pilot allegedly tried to shut off engines on Alaska Airlines flight". ABC News. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  9. Sundby, Alex (October 23, 2023). "Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson charged with attempted murder after trying to shut down engines midflight". CBS News. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  10. "Who is pilot Joseph Emerson? Pleasant Hill neighbors say he's 'very friendly'". KRON. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  11. Yousif, Nadine (October 23, 2023). "Off-duty pilot accused of trying to crash Alaska Airlines flight". BBC News. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  12. "Joseph Emerson's timeline on his flight career". Sinclair Broadcast Group (via WTGS). October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  13. Maile, Amanda; McMichael, Clara; Margolin, Josh (October 23, 2023). "Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder for allegedly trying to shut off engines on Alaska Airlines flight". ABC News. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  14. "Off-duty pilot who tried to cut engines tried mushrooms as mental health worsened, the complaint says". AP. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  15. Levenson, Michael (October 24, 2023). "Pilot Who Disrupted Flight Said He Had Taken Psychedelic Mushrooms, Complaint Says". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved October 25, 2023. I didn't feel OK," he told the police, according to the federal complaint. "It seemed like the pilots weren't paying attention to what was going on."... He also told the police, according to the complaint, "I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.
  16. "Alaska Airlines flight AS2059". Flightradar24. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
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