US pilots are permitted to apply to carry a TSA-approved firearm. Photo / 123rf
US pilots are permitted to apply to carry a TSA-approved firearm. Photo / 123rf
Delta Air Lines says the pilot accused of threatening to shoot the plane’s captain during a flight no longer works at the airline, and federal officials say his authorisation to carry a gun on board was revoked.
Jonathan J Dunn was indicted on October 18 and charged with interfering with a flight crew over an incident that occurred during a flight in August 2022. The Transportation Department’s inspector general says Dunn, who was the first officer or co-pilot, threatened to shoot the captain after a disagreement over diverting the flight to take care of a passenger with a medical issue.
“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,” the airline said in a statement.
The brief indictment in federal district court in Utah said that Dunn “did use a dangerous weapon in assaulting and intimidating the crew member”.
It later came to light that Dunn, who had served as an Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel, was relieved of command for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.
The details were made public in the Utah US Attorney’s Office filing, along with a record that the US Air Force suspended Dunn’s access to sensitive information following the incident during a deployment in Germany at the 603rd Air Operations Center.
Dunn was authorised by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to carry a gun on board under a programme created after the September 2001 terror attacks and designed to safeguard the cockpit from intruders.
Pilot Jonathan J. Dunn has since been dismissed by Delta Airlines over the firearms incident.
The TSA said that it “immediately” removed Dunn from the programme “upon learning of his actions, and took away his equipment”.
TSA said pilots must be vetted and attend training at a federal law enforcement centre in New Mexico to become what is called a federal flight deck officer.
Applicants must be US citizens with a current pilot’s licence, attend a one-week training course and regularly pass a firearms test. Pilots who approved are deputised as a federal law enforcement officer and given a TSA-approved gun.
The Associated Press named the pilot as the same Jonathan Dunn who unsuccessfully sued the Pentagon to prevent the Air Force from disciplining him for refusing to receive a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, according to a person familiar with the matter who would only discuss non-public information on condition of anonymity.
Dunn objected to the vaccine on religious grounds. He also argued that he was already protected because he contracted the virus in 2021. The US Supreme Court declined in a 6-3 decision to consider whether to block further punishment for him while his case proceeded.
Interference with a flight crew is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Court records indicate that Dunn is scheduled to be arraigned on November 16 in US district court in Salt Lake City.
The US Attorney’s Office there declined to comment beyond the information in the indictment.
The indictment was issued just a few days before an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot riding in the cockpit jump seat tried to shut down the engines of a Horizon Air jet in midflight. Joseph David Emerson of Pleasant Hill, California, pleaded not guilty last week in Portland, Oregon, to charges of attempted murder and interference with a flight crew.
The incidents have revived debate about psychological screening, which relies largely on trusting pilots to volunteer information about their mental health. Pilots are required to disclose during regular medical exams any medications they take and whether they have depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol dependence.
Ross Aimer, a retired airline pilot and now CEO of an aviation consulting company, said screening for mental health is far less than for drug and alcohol use and needs to be improved. He said pilots are unlikely to volunteer information that could point to mental health problems.
“If I mention something about having mental issues, I’m done” — a pilot’s career can be over — Aimer said. “It’s punitive, whereas if I go to my supervisor or somebody at the airline and say, ‘I think I’m an alcoholic.’ We have programmes” that allow pilots to regain their licences if they go through rehab and prove they are clean.
