The FAA says an Alaska Airlines pilot flying in the jumpseat of an Embraer E175 on Sunday tried to disable the engines on the aircraft by attempting to set off the fire extinguishers on both. The flight, operating as a Horizon Air service, was headed from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco and diverted to Portland. According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Portland, Joseph David Emerson, 44, has now been charged with 83 counts each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft.
According to the Seattle Times, the FAA issued an alert on its Domestic Events Network, which is distributed to airlines, that a pilot passenger tried “to disable aircraft engines while at cruise altitude by deploying the engine fire suppression system.” To fully activate each system, a ceiling-mounted handle must be first pulled down. This cuts off fuel, electrical power and hydraulics to the engine. Twisting the handle then releases halon gas inside the engine to smother a fire.
