An off-duty pilot attempted to shut off the engines in flight, Alaska Airlines says

An Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 jet, similar to this one, was forced to make an unexpected landing Sunday night after an off-duty pilot who was riding in the cockpit allegedly attempted to disable the aircraft's engines. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

toggle caption Ted S. Warren/AP

An Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 jet, similar to this one, was forced to make an unexpected landing Sunday night after an off-duty pilot who was riding in the cockpit allegedly attempted to disable the aircraft's engines.

Ted S. Warren/AP

An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an unexpected landing Sunday night after an off-duty pilot who was riding in the cockpit allegedly attempted to disable the aircraft's engines.

"I'll just give you a heads-up. We've got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit," one of the pilots said to air traffic controllers in posted by LiveATC.net. "It doesn't seem like he's causing any issue at the back. I think he's subdued."

The flight, which was operated by Horizon Airlines, took off from Everett, Wash. around 5 pm Sunday evening. The Embraer 175 jet had to be diverted from San Francisco to Portland, Ore. where it landed safely.

, including reckless endangerment and endangering an aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration it is supporting law enforcement investigations into the incident.

"All passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight," Alaska Airlines said. "We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests' calm and patience throughout this event."