A tragedy narrowly avoided? In August 2022, on a Delta Airlines flight, a co-pilot threatened to shoot the captain over a dispute. Now fired, Jonathan Dunn has been accused of interfering with a team, CBS reveals.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, Jonathan Dunn, the co-pilot, had “a disagreement” with the captain, who potentially wanted to divert the flight “due to a medical issue with a passenger.”
He then allegedly “told the captain he would be shot” if the flight was hijacked. A threat that must be taken seriously since the co-pilot was authorized to carry a firearm as part of the “Federal Flight Deck Officer” (FFDO) program.
These federal officers are airline pilots authorized to be armed in the cockpit on domestic flights. They receive special training and receive a weapon issued by the authorities to defend the cabin against a kidnapping attempt.
Former Air Force
The indictment states that Jonathan Dunn “assaulted and intimidated an airplane crew member and used a dangerous weapon to assault and intimidate the crew member.”
According to court documents, Dunn was an Air Force officer in 2003 and served two combat tours in Afghanistan. He left active duty in 2014 and joined the Air Force Reserve.
In a statement, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said the co-pilot was removed from the FFDO program without providing further details about the incident in question. As does Delta, which only confirms that Dunn is no longer an employee of the company. The Federal Aviation Administration revoked his flight license. His trial is scheduled for November 16.
The man had already made the news in 2022 in a lawsuit filed before the United States Supreme Court where he challenged, as a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, the obligation to be vaccinated against covid for religious reasons. He had been rejected.
Source: BFM TV
