WASHINGTON — A man is facing charges after officials say he repeatedly tried to open the door of a plane's cockpit during a flight from San Diego to Dulles Airport in Virginia.
According to court documents, Nathan Jones was a passenger on Alaska Airlines Flight 322 on March 3. At some point during the flight, Jones reportedly got out of his seat multiple times and made three separate attempts to go to the front of the plane and open the aircraft's cockpit door.
After the third attempt, court documents say flight attendants asked for help from off-duty law enforcement officers. Jones was then retrained, using flex cuffs, while the officers sat on either side of him for the remainder of the flight.
Court documents say when asked why he continued to try and access the cockpit, Jones reportedly replied that he "was testing them."
The flight deck was locked down for the remainder of the flight and a beverage cart was place as a barrier to block the cockpit which was additionally guarded by another flight attendant.
Upon landing at Dulles, Jones's luggage was searched and agents found multiple notebooks with writings describing how to operate an aircraft, including take-off, in-air, and landing techniques. Inside his wallet, officers found a student pilot's license.
According to a letter from the Virginia Department of Community and Human Services, Jones was detained at the Alexandria Detention Center and has remained there on protocols for engaging in self-harm.
"Mr. Jones has been retrained daily, sometimes several times a day," the letter reads. "He displays incoherent speech, disorganized behavior, mood liability and appears to be experiencing psychosis. These are symptoms indicative of a serious mental illness."
Jones's lawyer, Robert Jenkins of the Bynum & Jenkins PLLC, released a statement regarding his client's arrest and mental needs:
The charges against Mr. Jones are shocking to his mother and family. The allegations are completely inconsistent with the life he has lived. He is a young man without any history of criminal conduct or violence. At this stage we are acutely concerned with his mental health and are working to address his needs. We have confidence that at the end it will be clear that Mr. Jones never intended to harm or threaten anyone.
According to CBS News, Jones was charged with interference with flight crew members, which holds a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
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