It was during a flight between Everett in the state of Washington and San Francisco in California on Sunday that the man tried to turn off the engines so that the passenger plane would fall to the ground.
However, two other pilots managed to wrestle down the 44-year-old, who was later arrested, accused of attempted murder of all on board. Horizon Air says the plane has room for 76 passengers, but does not say how many were on board.
The control tower in Portland, Oregon, where the plane made an emergency landing, learned of the incident after it was all over.
— We’ve managed to get the guy who tried to shut down the engines out of the cockpit, and he doesn’t seem to be causing any problems back there right now. I think he is being held. Otherwise, we want the police to be on the scene as soon as we get down on the ground, the pilot announced from the air.
Initial reports of the incident stated that the man was a passenger, but Horizon Air confirms that the man is an employed pilot. He did not work on the flight in question, but sat in the cockpit on a spare seat.
All on board are said to be in good condition after the flight.