A 19-year-old student pilot was charged with interfering with a flight crew after allegedly making three attempts to enter the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight.
When confronted, he told attendants he was “testing them.”
Student Nathan Jones “made three separate attempts to go to the front of the plane and open the aircraft’s cockpit door,” Federal Air Marshal Thomas Pattinson wrote.
Off-duty officers restrained him for the remainder of the flight.
Flight attendants “requested the assistance of off-duty law enforcement officers, who restrained Jones in flex cuffs and sat on either side of him for the remainder of the flight,” Pattinson added.
His lawyer wants a psychological evaluation, citing concerning behavior like incoherent speech.
“We are very concerned about his mental health,” defense lawyer Robert Jenkins said. “I intend to request that the court evaluating him for competency to stand trial.”
Jail officials said he needs hospital care for an “altered mental status” and is at risk of harming himself without treatment.
Jones needs “care to stabilize his altered mental status that appears to be associated with psychiatric illness,” Anne Zalewski, a licensed clinical social worker stated.
“Without proper treatment, Mr. Jones is likely to continue to decompensate and continue to be a harm to himself,” Zalewski added.
Investigators found notebooks describing flight techniques and his wallet had a student pilot’s license.
The FAA is investigating the incident as a “passenger disturbance” that did not jeopardize safety.
Alaska Airlines said the man was “non-compliant” and has been banned from flying with them.
“The passenger was noncompliant, which prompted our flight crew to enlist off-duty law enforcement officers to help restrain him,” Alaska Airlines stated. “The flight continued to IAD without incident. The passenger was arrested by local law enforcement and has been banned from traveling with us.”
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