Passengers travelling on a flight which a pilot reportedly 'tried to crash' has revealed their terrifying experience on the plane.
The flight had been scheduled to travel from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco with off-duty pilot Joseph Emerson riding in the cockpit.
Emerson had been flying to San Francisco to connect for a job that he had scheduled there to fly a 737, officials said.
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But while the plane was at 35,000ft, Emerson allegedly leapt for the controls and attempted to activate the fire extinguisher systems.
Fortunately for the 83 people on board, he was unsuccessful in the alleged attempt.
And now passengers have shared what it was like to be on the aircraft, and it was nowhere near as hectic as you might imagine.
In fact, one passenger said that they had no idea just how grave the incident was until after they landed.
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Aubrey Gavello told ABC News: "We didn't know anything was happening until the flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and made an announcement that there was an emergency situation and the plane needed to land immediately. … "About 15 minutes later, she got back on and said that there was a medical emergency."
And fellow passenger Alex Wood also said that crew had clarified that 'there was a disturbance in the cockpit'.
The plane diverted to Portland in Oregon, where it landed and Emerson was escorted off the flight.
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According to Gavello, a flight attendant had told Emerson: "We're going to be fine, it's OK, we'll get you off the plane."
"It was very professional, handled very calmly, and we didn't really know what was going on until we landed." Wood said.
Once everyone was safe, Wood claimed that staff were quick to inform passengers about what had happened.
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He said: "After we did land and the gentleman was escorted off, the flight attendant got back on the speaker and said, plain and simple, 'He had a mental breakdown. We needed to get him off the plane immediately'."
Emerson has now been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, as well as 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft.
Speaking about the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed on 23 October that it was 'not connected in any way shape or form to current world events'.
Alaska Airlines also confirmed that power was never lost to the plane and all passengers and crew landed safely.
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"All passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight," they said.
"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."
Elsewhere, the airline said that 'the event is being investigated by law enforcement authorities', with the FBI adding that 'there is no continuing threat related to this incident'.
UNILAD has reached out to Alaska Airlines for further comment.
Kit Roberts