Alaska Airlines cabin crew used a beverage cart to stop a passenger trying to enter the cockpit, prosecutors say

Pete Syme
Updated ·2 min read
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Alaska Airlines cabin crew used a beverage cart to stop a passenger trying to enter the cockpit, prosecutors say

  • An Alaska Airlines passenger tried three times to access the cockpit, an affidavit says.

  • Flight attendants blocked the door with a beverage cart, the affidavit adds.

  • The defendant's lawyer asked the judge for a mental-competency evaluation.

An Alaska Airlines cabin crew blocked the cockpit with a beverage cart to stop a passenger from accessing the cockpit, an affidavit states.

Nathan Jones was flying from San Diego to Washington, DC, on March 3 when he made three attempts to open the cockpit door, the court document says.

The affidavit, seen by Business Insider, is based on an investigation from an FBI officer who's also a federal air marshal with the Transportation Security Administration.

Off-duty law-enforcement officers "restrained Jones in flex cuffs and sat on either side of him" for the rest of the flight, the affidavit says.

It adds that when a flight attendant asked why he was trying to get into the cockpit, Jones replied that he "was testing them."

The cockpit was locked down for the rest of the flight, and flight attendants barricaded the cockpit door with a beverage cart, the affidavit says.

When the plane landed, law-enforcement officers searched Jones' luggage and found his student pilot's license and notebooks describing how to operate an aircraft, the court document says.

Jones was charged with one count of interference with a flight crew the day after the incident.

On Wednesday, his lawyer submitted a motion for a mental-competency evaluation.

A letter from the senior therapist at the jail where Jones is detained said Jones was displaying "symptoms indicative of a serious mental illness."

In a statement shared with BI, Alaska Airlines said: "On flight 322 from San Diego to Dulles Airport, Virginia, on March 3, a passenger, who appeared confused, attempted to access the flight deck in a non-violent manner."

"The passenger was noncompliant, which prompted our flight crew to enlist off-duty law enforcement officers to help restrain him. The flight continued to IAD without incident. The passenger was arrested by local law enforcement and has been banned from traveling with us," it added.

Read the original article on Business Insider