Co-pilot 'threatened to shoot captain' for trying to divert passenger plane

01 November 2023 , 05:00

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The potentially deadly scenes unfolded on board a passenger jet in August 2022 (Image: Getty Images)

A pilot allegedly threatened to shoot a plane's captain if he diverted the flight because of a passenger who needed medical attention.

Jonathan Dunn faces up to 20 years in jail over the incident, which happened on board a passenger jet in August 2022. A grand jury in Utah, US, charged Dunn with interference with a flight crew, according to federal court records.

Prosecutors say that Dunn was the first officer, or co-pilot, on the flight and was authorised to carry a gun by the Transportation Security Administration.

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"After a disagreement about a potential flight diversion due to a passenger medical event, Dunn told the Captain they would be shot multiple times if the captain diverted the flight," the inspector general's office said.

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Dunn was described in the indictment as a California pilot. It did not identify the airline on which the incident occurred, saying only that it was a commercial airline flight. The court did not give the flight's intended route, or whether it was diverted.

The inspector general said it was working with the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration on the investigation.

The two-page indictment in federal district court in Utah says only that Dunn "did use a dangerous weapon in assaulting and intimidating the crew member." It did not indicate the airline either, and the US Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City declined to comment beyond the information in the indictment.

Interference with a flight crew is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. An arraignment is scheduled for November 16. The pilot's indictment came just a few days before an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot riding in the cockpit jump seat tried to shut down the engines of a Horizon Air jet in midflight. He was subdued by the captain and co-pilot and arrested after the plane diverted to Portland, Oregon.

Joseph David Emerson of Pleasant Hill, California, told police he was suffering from depression and had taken psychedelic mushrooms 48 hours before the flight. He pleaded not guilty in state court in Portland to charges of attempted murder.

That incident revived debate about how pilots are screened for mental health - largely by trusting that they will volunteer information that could raise safety concerns. Pilots are required during regular medical exams to disclose depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol dependence, and medications they take.

David Koenig