The 44-year-old pilot was on leave but had been given a place in a spare seat (“jump seat”) in the cockpit on the Alaska Airlines flight between Everett in Washington and San Francisco in California on Sunday.
Suddenly, he tried to shut down the engines, according to the airline.
However, people in the crew managed to wrestle the man down – but when the plane was about to make an emergency landing, he should have instead tried to open an emergency exit at the back of the aircraft, but was also prevented that time by staff on board.
Haven’t slept in 40 hours
In questioning with the police, the pilot has stated that he suffers from depression, that one of his friends recently passed away and that he took the psychedelic mushrooms about two days before the flight. In addition to having been affected by mushrooms, according to his own statement, he has not slept for 40 hours and believed that he was dreaming and “just wanted to wake up”.
The flight was operated by Alaska Air Group’s regional subsidiary Horizon Air. The arrested man was employed by Alaska Air Group as a co-pilot in 2001, then worked for several years as a pilot at Virgin America before joining Alaska Airlines in 2016, first as a co-pilot and then in 2019 as a pilot.
Do not suspect terrorism
The man’s certifications have never been suspended or revoked, according to his employer.
Authorities do not believe there are any links to terrorism or ideologically motivated violence, a police source told CNN earlier this week.
The world’s largest pilot union, ALPA, writes in a statement that pilots are one of the professions in North America that undergo the most thorough checks.
The 44-year-old pilot is suspected of attempted murder of 83 people.