An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to cut the engines of a jet mid-flight appeared for the first time in federal court in Portland on Thursday afternoon. Joseph David Emerson, 44, faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew, filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland. Emerson also faces 83 counts of attempted murder for the 83 other people on the flight. He pleaded not guilty to those charges on Tuesday. According to Special Agent Kieran Ramsay, who is in charge of the FBI for the state of Oregon, said this was Emerson's initial appearance in court. He said there will be another arraignment scheduled and court proceedings to follow. Read the full story here: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/alaska-airlines-pilot-to-appear-in-federal-court-thursday/281-268a3809-4c9e-40c5-91da-3a859ca37920