A former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while riding off-duty in the cockpit will serve no additional prison time.

US District Court Judge Amy Baggio sentenced Joseph Emerson, 44, to time served and supervised release for three years a hearing in Portland, Oregon. Federal prosecutors had asked for one year in prison, while his lawyers had sought probation.

"Pilots are not perfect. They are human," she said on Monday.

"They are people and all people need help sometimes."

Emerson was subdued by the flight crew after trying to cut the engines of a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on October 22, 2023, while he was riding in an extra seat in the cockpit.

The plane was diverted to Portland, where it landed safely

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