An off-duty pilot attempted to shut down the engines of a Horizon Airlines flight on Sunday night and was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after the flight was diverted and landed without incident.

Joseph David Emerson, an Alaska Airlines pilot from California, was arrested by Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Portland, Ore., after Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 from Everett, Wash., to San Francisco was diverted to Portland International Airport. In a statement, Alaska Airlines said there was “a credible security threat related to an authorized occupant in the flight deck jump seat” and that the flight crew eventually secured the aircraft.

Horizon is a regional airline that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Airlines.

Emerson was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder and 83 counts of reckless endangerment, along with endangering an aircraft.

“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit, and he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now, I think he’s subdued,” a pilot told air traffic controllers, according to publicly available audio recorded by Live ATC. “We want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked.”

In a statement to commercial airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration said the incident “is not connected in any way shape or form to current world events.”

Off-duty pilots are often able to commute between airports while sitting in the cockpit jump seat and are cleared to sit in the secure area. Alaska confirmed that the threat was related to “an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was traveling in the flight deck jump seat.”

“The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines,” the airline said. “The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.”

Alaska said all passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight. The airline said the FBI and Portland Police Department are investigating.

“We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event,” the airline said in a statement.

Oriana Pawlyk contributed to this report.

Jireh Deng | Los Angeles Times (TNS)

On Ziwe’s eponymous late-night talk show, which Showtime tragically canceled earlier this year, everything was carefully curated: the cartoonish graphics, the confrontational style, the contrast of the gaudy pink set with Ziwe Fumudoh’s knack for leaping into cringe and controversy with questions like: How many Black friends do you have?

But in her first book of essays, “ Black Friend,” out this week, the writer-comedian plays Bad Cop with herself on topics ranging from her Nigerian immigrant upbringing to the impact of fame on body image, and the result feels unrehearsed. Though her terse acknowledgments section (in its entirety: “Thank you”) feels very Ziwe, an essay titled “ Wikifeet” veers from jokes about foot fetishists to memories of growing up “an ugly duckling.” Throughout, Ziwe toggles between sincerity and absurdity, personal anecdotes and ample footnotes, in search of a subject much harder to pin down than dumbfounded Chet Hanks or blasé Julia Fox.

“It’s not in my impulse to share things with strangers,” she told The Times during a Zoom interview from New York earlier this month. “The editing process for me was excavating where I personally stood and what my perspective was.”

The title of her book is a nod to the viral Instagram Live interviews that inspired her talk show, in which her “Black friends” question played on the clichéd defense of white people called out for racism. But it’s also a reclamation of her own centrality in the narrative, as she tells the story of how she went from sidekick to star.

“Black Friend: Essays,” by Ziwe (Abrams Books/TNS)

Our conversation — about her foray into books, how she differs from her persona and what it means to be a “Black friend” — has been edited for clarity and length.

A lot of celebrities turn to memoirs to shape their public narrative. What makes your book of essays different?

I’ve been a professional writer for most of my career. I started in college when I was freelancing at the Onion, and I’ve been doing that still to this day. So I don’t know if I am necessarily your typical celebrity essayist. As far as my audience is concerned, I can’t control what people take away from my writing. I hope that they find it funny, I hope that they get a sense of the the work I put into the stories. Really, all I can do as a writer is sit down and bleed out on the text, and hope my vulnerability is enough to move my audience.

How did you decide on the title of your book?

I think there are many essays that circle around being a Black friend, and Black friendship, and [also] being part of like a community of Black friends. … [And] in the introduction, I write about the Black friend being the omnipresent figure in American media who never has a chance to explore their own journey. In this Black friend’s world they are the protagonists, but they always appear like a sidekick.

There is obviously a connection to the question I asked on Instagram Live. I had no idea that that would be the breakout question of the show. I don’t even think that was the funniest question. But it somehow became a calling card, which I found to be very interesting. Like, nobody knows my name. I am the Black friend brought to this WNBA game being misidentified, and the Black friend being [briefly] barred from a screening of “ If Beale Street Could Talk.”

You — or your character — ask some hilariously inappropriate personal questions in the show. What was it like to ask yourself the uncomfortable questions?

I didn’t want to share one iota about myself. I don’t want people to know where I live, what I eat, that I have a pet. That is not my instinct from a cultural perspective. And also from an artistic perspective, I find that there is more freedom and being able to hide behind a character — and then they have a really clear point of view. When you’re just yourself, you don’t want to offend anyone. I don’t want to misspeak. But comedy lives on that dangerous ledge.

In your book, you compare your performance on your show to drag. Can you talk more about how you craft your persona?

The space of late-night television and broadcast news is really masculine. It’s a lot of suits. And I was thinking, what is the antithetical to that? Mind you, women’s talk shows are packaged so differently: they’re daytime, there’s a cooking segment and there’s fashion shows at lunch. So I pulled from the daytime world. I also played with Barbies and Bratz dolls as a kid. I was attracted to that world as a child because that’s what I saw as the emblem of femininity. I wanted to have this plastic toy in my hand even, though it couldn’t breath and it didn’t have any genitals.

I wonder about that persona and how much it’s bled into your personal life. You’ve said that when strangers meet you, they expect you to be aggressive and mean.

I think people are terrified of me. That’s just the truth. I hate it. I was about to say that nobody wants people to be afraid of them. But there’s obviously that famous quote, “it’s better to be feared than loved.” But I would rather be loved. I don’t love that at all.

You insert a lot of sidebars and footnotes to add context to the narrative. Why did you choose that format?

I think my mind is sort of manic the way that I wrote my book. And so in “ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”, which is probably my biggest influence as far as the footnotes go,, [Junot Diaz] told multiple stories concurrently over the course of his book. And similarly, I was interested in having people follow my train of thought, but also including like, Okay, this is the historical context as I talk about how I’m the Rosa Parks of a free screening of a movie. So it was just part of it was just like, yeah, it was an artistic choice that I, that reflects how my mind works.

You’ve been characterized before as an agent of chaos, do you identify with that?

No, I don’t have it on my CV, although maybe I should add it. Honestly, I thrive much like Bane. I thrive in the chaos. It’s something that I am really comfortable with. I did an episode of [Andy Cohen’s] “ Watch What Happens Live” yesterday with Mary Cosby, this famously chaotic character in “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” And unfortunately, or fortunately, I found myself really at peace. So I just take chaos — better than the average duck. But I wouldn’t say that’s my job.

What do you consider the responsibility of your platform then? In your book you cite the work of a lot of thinkers, including James Baldwin and W.E.B. Du Bois. But of yourself you write, “I am a well-spoken, attractive person so my job is to be hot and loudly repeat things that smarter people say.”

I think my only responsibility is to be funny. That’s my job. I’m a comedian and the reaction I’m supposed to get is, “Ha ha ha, ha ha, ha.” Everything else is gravy, it is an elective surgery. I’m not an activist, I cannot speak to the proper ways to mobilize. I create entertaining content that makes people think. My impact is Ziwe. My title is Ziwe. My job is Ziwe and I’m really good at it.

____

Black Friend: Essays

By Ziwe

Abrams: 192 pages, $26

©2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Vinni Lettieri wore some of his resumé on his face Monday when he joined the Minnesota Wild after starting the season at AHL Iowa.

“A little scrum in the net front a few days ago,” the veteran forward said.

He should fit right into the fourth line with center Connor Dewar and wing Brandon Duhaime, speedy, hard-nosed forwards who have consistently set an aggressive tone when they’ve had the puck this season.

The three practiced together Monday morning at TRIA Rink.

“People don’t know, sometimes, how skilled fourth lines are around the league, and these guys are great shooters, they’re great playmakers, they have great vision,” Lettieri said.

Lettieri, 28, has been nothing but sharp since signing a two-year, two-way deal with the Wild on July 1, impressive during training camp, and productive in preseason games (1-3–4 in two games) and at Iowa (1-2–3 in four games).

“He played not only skillfully but gritty, as well,” Wild head coach Dean Evason said. “That’s what we’re looking for from him.”

The Wild have lost their past two games (0-1-1), both at home, while struggling defensively. The Wild are ninth in scoring through five games, averaging 3.6 goals a game, but are tied for second-worst in the NHL in goals against, 4.2.

“We’re scoring enough goals to win hockey games,” Evason said. “We’ve got to keep it out if our net with defending. We’ve got to be way better in that area.”

Lettieri replaces Sammy Walker, who played in each of those games, registering one shot on goal before being reassigned to Iowa on Sunday. In seven seasons since graduating from Minnesota, Lettieri has played 83 NHL games in stints with the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks and Boston Bruins, scoring a combined seven goals and 18 points.

“Every year you learn something new,” Lettieri said. “I wouldn’t say it’s getting better at something, it’s becoming more knowledgeable and more aware of your surroundings, and you’re supposed to get open, pick up pucks the correct way. It’s just fine-tuning your skills at this level is the biggest thing.”

Tuesday’s 8 p.m. puck drop against Edmonton at Xcel Energy Center will be his first as a member of the Wild, the hometown team of the Minnetonka graduate and grandson of Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne, who picked him up Sunday from MSP, where the Iowa Wild had a short layover on the way home from Manitoba.

“I’ve played here before, but playing for the Wild is definitely another level,” he said. “I’m super excited, but I think patience is the biggest thing I’ve learned. … It’s the hardest thing to learn, but the best thing to learn.”

Extra body

Defenseman Jon Merrill was absent from the Wild’s practice on Monday, but Evason said the team is hoping he’ll be available for Tuesday night’s game.

“Just some maintenance; he got banged up the other night,” the coach said. “He should be fine, but we wanted to make sure that he was OK.”

Regardless, Evason said the team would recall another minor league player from Iowa on Tuesday so they have an extra available body on a trip that begins Thursday in Philadelphia and ends Sunday at New Jersey.

He said it wasn’t clear whether that player would be a forward or defenseman.

“We’re going to work through it this morning,” he said. “We’re going to chat about it after (practice). Things were a little quick this morning.”

Extra body?

Evason said he expects Matt Boldy to travel with the team when it leaves for Philadelphia on Wednesday. The winger has been sidelined since suffering an upper body injury Oct. 15 at Toronto.

“He’s at the point where he’s able to move on with us (as a) practice player,” Evason said.

The coach didn’t rule out Boldy play on the trip, which continues Friday night in Washington D.C. before concluding with a 4 p.m. drop Sunday in Newark.

“The intention, obviously, is to have him with us, and then we’ll see how he is,” Evason said. “But certainly he won’t play early in the trip, and then we’ll evaluate and hope for the best.”