SALT LAKE CITY — A former Delta Air Lines pilot who threatened to shoot his co-pilot during a flight to Utah is set to appear in a Salt Lake City court Thursday.
Jonathan J. Dunn, 42, was indicted in October and charged with interfering with his flight crew during an August 2022 flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City.
According to court documents, Dunn was authorized by the Transportation Security Administration to carry a firearm on the flight deck for security reasons. When a passenger suffered a medical issue during the flight on Aug. 22, 2022, the captain advised Dunn that the crew may have to divert to Grand Junction, Colorado if the passenger's condition worsened.
After objecting to the captain's orders, the documents say Dunn "described in substantial detail how he would shoot the captain multiple times for 'going crazy' and he would later explain he had to shoot all the rounds he possessed because the captain was 'still twitching'."
Following the incident, Dunn was removed from the TSA program that authorized him to carry a firearm and he no longer is employed by Delta. He was in indicted in October while serving on active duty overseas with the U.S. military.
Dunn is scheduled to appear before a federal judge Wednesday afternoon at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. District Courthouse in Salt Lake City.
The Associated Press reports Interference with a flight crew is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
