Alaska Airlines flight forced to divert after off-duty pilot tries to shut engines off

Pilots who were navigating a flight out of Seattle had to divert the flight after an individual who allegedly had access to ride in the cockpit attempted to shut off the engines.

The Horizon flight safely landed in Oregon after the incident on Sunday. Though the flight's destination was San Francisco, it was forced to land short of its destination after what was described as a "credible security threat," according to the Daily Mail.

After Horizon Air flight 2059 diverted to Portland en route to San Francisco, the Alaska Airlines pilot responsible for the scare was reportedly arrested.

“I’ll just give you a heads-up. We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit,” the pilot told Portland air traffic control in mid-flight. “It doesn’t seem like he’s causing any issue at the back. I think he’s subdued.”

“Other than that, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked,” the pilot added.

It is not clear how the off-duty pilot was subdued or whether any of the passengers got involved.

The flight was apparently carrying about 80 passengers, including a number of infants. The individual believed to have tried to cut off the engines was stationed behind the two pilots, inside the flight deck. The Seattle Times noted that this was not unusual, given that "any airline employee can hitch a free ride back to their home base after their work shift ends if seats are available."

In a statement released Monday morning, Alaska Air Group — the owner of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air — said that there had been a "credible security threat related to an authorized occupant in the flight deck jump seat."

“The crew secured the aircraft without incident,” Alaska Air added. “All passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight.”

“We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event."

There is currently no information on the possible motive for why the suspect in the case would have wanted to shut down the engines. The Daily Mail reported that the situation was under ongoing investigation.

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