![]()
A grand jury in Utah has indicted First Officer Jonathan J. Dunn for interfering with the crew of a commercial airline flight, alleging that he threatened to shoot the Captain if he diverted the flight due to a passenger medical emergency. Dunn was authorized to carry a firearm on the plane and after a disagreement with the Captain over a potential flight aversion, allegedly told him he would be shot multiple times if he diverted the flight.
The indictment alleges that on Aug. 22, 2022, First Officer Dunn used his weapon to assault and intimidate the Captain. Dunn was authorized to carry a firearm through the Transportation Security Administration's Federal Flight Deck Officer program. He was indicted on Oct. 18 by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and according to The Washington Post, an arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 16. Interference with a flight crew is a felony and punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The DOT is working with the FAA and FBI on the ongoing investigation.
Dunn was part of TSA's FFDO program, which authorizes airline pilots to be armed in the cockpit on domestic flights. The members of the program undergo special training and are provided with a TSA-issued weapon to defend the flight deck if there is an attempted hijacking. A TSA spokesperson told CBS News that they were aware of the incident and Dunn has been removed from the program. A Delta Air Lines spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that Dunn was working for the company at the time of the incident.
The DOT report stated that Dunn and the Captain had a disagreement over a potential flight diversion due to a passenger medical event. The report did not state where the plane was headed or whether it diverted. The investigation is ongoing and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Just days after the indictment, an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot traveling in the flight deck jump seat was accused of attempting to shut off the engine power midflight. Captain Joseph Emerson was charged with 83 felony counts of attempted murder, 83 misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and one felony count of endangering an aircraft. After the event, details emerged about the personal struggles Emerson was going through, bringing attention to the state of mental health in aviation.RELATED STORIES:A look at flight deck security after pilot arrested for shut-down threatFAA 'Hallo-memes' meant to combat frightening passenger behaviorMental health in aviation - how the FAA is changing views on mental illness
Emerson told the pilots he was not okay before throwing off his headphones and trying to cut the engines. He later told police he had been struggling with depression, had not slept in 40 hours and had consumed psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before the incident, according to AP News. The police reported that Emerson did not appear to be intoxicated during his interview but an FBI agent wrote in a probable cause affidavit in support of the charge, stating Emerson said it was his first time trying psilocybin mushrooms. Matt Johnson, a Johns Hopkins professor who studied psychedelics and other drugs told CNN that it was possible that the combination of the lingering effects of the mushrooms, the underlying depression and sleep deprivation were a perfect storm. Emerson told the police he thought he was dreaming at the time of the incident.
Days after the highly publicized incident, the FAA released a series of Halloween memes to combat the rise in unruly passenger behavior. From 2020 to 2021, the number of reported cases jumped by nearly 500 percent. At its peak in March 2021, there were 720 reported cases in a month. While the number of incidents is dropping, the FAA said there are still too many incidents during flights. Some of these incidents have been linked to intoxication while others are being linked with a mental health crisis.
Pilots have a high-stress job in a high-stress environment. The FAA encourages pilots to seek help if they have been dealing with mental health struggles, stating that treatment does not disqualify a pilot from flying.
"In fact, only about 0.1% of medical certificate applicants who disclose health issues are denied," the FAA said.
The majority of pilots undergo medical exams every six months to five years, depending on the type of flying and their age. Pilots are required to report any health professional visits in the previous three years, all medications being taken and other medical history. These forms include questions about mental health. Based on answers, the Aviation Medical Examiner can request additional psychological testing and some commercial airlines will have their own mental health screenings and requirements. In 2016 the Pilot Fitness Aviation Rulemaking Committee provided several recommendations to the FAA about pilot medical fitness, which included expanding training in mental health issues and encouraging pilot peer support programs. Despite changes, there is still a stigma surrounding mental health and asking for help. The FAA is also investing in numerous resources to reduce or eliminate the stigma around mental health in aviation through clinical research, increased outreach, increased mental health training, supporting research and hiring more mental health professionals.FAA/DOT figure from a 2023 study, showing the medical certification process for pilots disclosing certain mental health diagnoses
Retired airline pilot Richard Wesmoreland told ABC 7 that he chose to end his career on his terms after the lifestyle began to wear on him mentally, putting him in a dark place. He told ABC that he opted to end his own career on his terms rather than be fired for seeking treatment, which is a fear shared by many pilots. Disclosing a medical condition such as depression or anxiety could potentially force the pilot to stay grounded while undergoing treatment, filling out paperwork, specialized doctor visits and reevaluations, which can all take time and money that some can ill afford. Unfortunately, rather than potentially losing a career and source of income, some pilots may prefer to suffer in silence.
Emerson's wife told Oregon Public Broadcasting that he was returning home from an emotional weekend with friends and the family of his closest friend, who died unexpectedly nearly six years prior. The death of his best friend hit Emerson hard and his wife told the outlet that the depression and irritability worsened each year around the anniversary of his friend's death.
"I had brought up during that, I was like, ‘Maybe you should talk to somebody,'" Emerson's wife, Sarah Stretch said. "And then he expressed to me, ‘Sarah, I can't be out of work. We have to pay a mortgage. If I go do that, I have to go through all these other hoops …and we can't afford to do that.'"
According to a 2016 study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, 12.6 percent of airline pilots met the depression threshold for their survey and 4.1 percent reported having suicidal thoughts within the past two weeks.
"If each aircraft requires two pilots, that means one out of four aircraft that are out there flying, are flying with a pilot that would qualify as clinically depressed," said Carl Eisen, a retired commercial airline pilot, to Oregon Public Broadcasting. "If that were dangerous, airplanes would be raining out of the sky on a regular basis. So it doesn't seem that this poses a huge safety risk, although it's less than ideal."
With the recent incidents involving pilots, attention is being drawn to the state of mental health in aviation, security on flights and in the flight deck, as well as the steps required for pilots to stay in the cockpit when problems do arise. Emerson's next arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 22 and Dunn's is scheduled for Nov. 16. Both men are still being investigated and are innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.