Delta Pilot Indicted For Threatening To Shoot A Captain Trying To Divert A Flight For A Medical Emergency, Was Legally Carrying Gun On Flight

Delta Air Lines pilot Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted for threatening to shoot a plane’s captain during a flight in August 2022.

Dunn was carrying a firearm legally on the flight, and federal authorities have revoked his right to carry a gun on a plane.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the charges.

Delta said in a statement: “Out of respect for the ongoing aviation authority investigation of this incident, Delta will refrain from commenting on this matter but will confirm that this First Officer is no longer employed at Delta.”

Dunn had been charged with interfering with the crew on this flight.

Delta’s inspector general’s office stated that “the indictment alleges that, on or about August 22, 2022, Dunn, the crew’s First Officer, interfered with the performance of a crew member by using a dangerous 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,” the report read. “After a disagreement about a potential flight diversion due to a passenger medical event, Dunn told the Captain they would be shot multiple times if the Captain diverted the flight.”

The former pilot was authorized by the Transportation Security Administration to carry a gun on a plane under a program created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The program was also created to protect cockpits from possible intruders.

The agency said that pilots need to be vetted and participate in training at a federal law enforcement center in New Mexico.

Applicants are required to be American citizens with an active pilot’s license, attend a one-week training course, and pass a firearms test twice a year. The pilots who are approved are then deputized as federal law enforcement officers and granted a gun approved by the agency.

The indictment was issued a few days before an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot riding in the cockpit jump seat, while under the influence of magic mushrooms, attempted to shut down the engines of a Horizon Air jet mid-flight.

Joseph David Emerson, the pilot originating from Pleasant Hill, California, pleaded not guilty in October in Portland, Oregon, to charges of attempted murder and interfering with a flight crew.

Incidents such as these brought back debate about psychological screening, a process that relies on trusting pilots to come forward with information regarding their mental health.

For this process, pilots have to disclose during regular medical exams what kind of medications they take and whether they suffer from depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol dependence.