Alaska teen arrested after grabbing controls of plane with 6 people on board sending it into nosedive: troopers
An Alaska teen has been arrested for attempting to take control of a small airplane during a commercial flight, Alaska State Troopers said.
On Wednesday just before 3 p.m., 18-year-old Jaden Lake-Kameroff was on a Ryan Air flight from Bethel to Aniak, when he got up from his seat “and took control of the yoke causing the Cessna Caravan [aircraft] to nosedive,” troopers said in a statement.
The plane had six people on board. The pilot was able to regain control of the aircraft, and the other passengers managed to pull Lake-Kameroff away from the yoke.
“The passengers subdued Jaden while the pilot landed the aircraft safely in Aniak,” according to the statement.
Alaska State Troopers in Aniak responded to the incident and arrested the suspect after the plane landed safely.
“Our pilot relied heavily on his training procedures and his professionalism and landed without further incident,” Lee Ryan, the president of Ryan Air said, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
“We’re extremely thankful for the safe outcome and extremely grateful for the passengers and the pilot and (flight) command collectively working together to land safely,” Ryan added.
According to Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the troopers, the teen had “asked the pilot to fly the plane earlier during the flight and initially asked to sit in the unoccupied copilot seat. Both requests were denied by the pilot,” he wrote in an email to the newspaper.
However, “the ultimate motive for Lake-Kameroff’s actions are still being investigated,” McDaniel added.
He is now facing charges of second-degree terroristic threatening, five counts of attempted first-degree assault, and four charges of third-degree assault, troopers said.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified about the incident.
