Alaska man accused of taking over plane, sending it into nosedive

ANIAK, Alaska — An Alaska man is accused of grabbing the controls of a commercial flight and sending the plane into a nosedive before other passengers subdued him, authorities said.

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Jaden Lake-Kameroff, 18, of Bethel, was charged with one count of second-degree terroristic threatening, five counts of first-degree attempted assault, and four counts of third-degree assault, according to a news release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

According to Alaska State Troopers, Lake-Kameroff grabbed the controls of a Ryan Air Flight from Bethel to Aniak on Wednesday afternoon, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Lake-Kameroff, who was on the Cessna aircraft with four other passengers, allegedly got up from his seat at around 2:44 p.m., troopers wrote in a news release. He was seated in the second row during the flight, Lee Ryan, president of Ryan Air, told the Daily News.

“During the flight, Jaden got up from his seat and took control of the yoke causing the Cessna Caravan to nosedive,” troopers said in the news release.

The pilot regained control of the plane and landed safely in Aniak after passengers helped restrain Lake-Kameroff, KTUU reported.

Lake-Kameroff was arrested after the plane landed, troopers said.

“Our pilot relied heavily on his training procedures and his professionalism and landed without further incident,” Ryan told the Daily News. “We’re extremely thankful for the safe outcome and extremely grateful for the passengers and the pilot and (flight) command collectively working together to land safely.”

The plane was about 5 miles from the Aniak airport and was preparing to land when Lake-Kameroff grabbed the controls, Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the troopers, told the Daily News.

“Lake-Kameroff had asked the pilot to fly the plane earlier during the flight and initially asked to sit in the unoccupied copilot seat. Both requests were denied by the pilot,” McDaniel wrote the newspaper in an email. “The ultimate motive for Lake-Kameroff’s actions are still being investigated.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified about the incident, KTUU reported.

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