Alaska Airlines passenger charged with attempting to access cockpit

A passenger named Nathan Jones on an Alaska Airlines flight recently attempted to open the cockpit door multiple times. This caused flight attendants to take action by securing the door and having the man restrained until the plane landed. Court documents filed in federal court detail this incident.

Nathan Jones has been charged with interfering with a flight crew for his actions during the flight on March 3. The flight was from San Diego to Dulles International Airport in Virginia, as stated in a criminal complaint filed last week in US district court in Virginia.

Jones was reported by an air marshal to have gotten up from his seat multiple times during the flight and attempted to open the cockpit door three times. Flight attendants sought assistance from off-duty law enforcement officers who then restrained Jones with flex cuffs and sat on either side of him for the remainder of the flight.

When questioned by a flight attendant about his actions, Jones stated that he was "testing them," according to the affidavit.

The passenger, who appeared confused, tried to access the cockpit in a nonviolent manner, Alaska Airlines stated on Wednesday. The cockpit was then locked down and barricaded with a beverage cart for the rest of the flight, as per the affidavit.

The company announced that the passenger has been arrested and prohibited from flying with the airline.

Law enforcement discovered a student pilot's license and numerous notebooks in Jones' luggage. The notebooks contained instructions on how to operate an aircraft, including take-off, in-air, and landing techniques, as stated in the affidavit.

It is unknown what kind of aircraft the student pilot's license was for or the extent of Jones's flight training.

The flight successfully landed, and the Federal Aviation Administration is currently looking into the incident, according to the FAA.

The recent incident occurred amidst a series of flight incidents and reports of disruptive passengers in the past few months. This includes an incident where a plug door blew off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight and five smaller incidents reported by United Airlines within a span of seven days this month.

According to his attorney, Robert Jenkins, Jones' family is deeply saddened by the accusations against him and extremely worried about his mental well-being.

Jenkins expressed that the behavior mentioned in the affidavit does not align with the young man's usual life. He mentioned that they have asked for a court-ordered competency evaluation for Mr. Jones in hopes that he can receive the necessary medical assistance.

On Wednesday, Jenkins submitted a motion asking for an evaluation to assess Jones' competency to participate in the trial.

A therapist named Anne Zalewski, who works for the city of Alexandria, Virginia where Jones was held in jail, submitted a letter as part of the motion. According to Zalewski, Jones has been showing signs of a serious mental illness during his time in jail and requires hospital-level care to stabilize his mental state.

Jones is set to have a detention hearing on Monday. If found guilty of the flight interference charge, he could potentially receive a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.

Editor's P/S:

The recent incident