3 passengers sue airline for distress

SEATTLE — Three passengers sued Alaska Airlines Thursday, saying they suffered emotional distress from an incident last month in which an off-duty pilot is accused of trying to shut down the engines of a plane while catching a ride in the cockpit from Washington state to San Francisco.

In the complaint filed Thursday in King County Superior Court in Washington state, San Francisco residents Matthew Doland and Theresa Stelter and Paul Stephen of Kenmore, Wash., alleged that the pilot should never have been allowed in the cockpit because he was suffering from depression and a lack of sleep.

Alaska Airlines said in an emailed statement it is reviewing the complaint.

Alaska pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, was riding in the jump seat — an extra seat in the cockpit — when he suddenly said “I’m not OK” and tried to pull two handles that would engage a fire-suppression system and cut fuel to the engines, authorities said in charging documents.

Flight 2059, operated by Alaska affiliate Horizon Air, diverted safely to Portland, Oregon, after the pilots quickly subdued Emerson and he was voluntarily handcuffed in the back of the plane, police said.

The lawsuit said the plane experienced “what felt like a nose-dive,” though some passengers quoted in news accounts have not described any such thing.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs have suffered from anxiety, insomnia, fear of flying and other emotional effects as a result of the incident. The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of other passengers and says the airline owed the highest duty of care to its passengers and failed to follow that when it allowed Emerson in the cockpit.

Emerson has pleaded innocent to attempted murder charges in Oregon state court and faces arraignment later this month on a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew.