Teenager 'tries to grab plane controls and crash' as passengers watch on in terror

Jaden Lake-Kameroff, 18, asked if he could sit up at the front in the co-pilot seat - but after his request was denied he allegedly sent the plane nosediving with five people on board. The teenage boy has been arrested in Alaska after allegedly grabbing the controls of a plane and trying to crash it to the ground in a desperate struggle with the pilot. Jaden was one of five passengers aboard the small Cessna Caravan flying from Bethel (BET/PABE) to Aniak (ANI/PANI) last Wednesday. The commercial flight was about five miles from the airport when Lake-Kameroff made the frightening move around 2.44pm Wednesday. The aircraft was between 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the ground.

The plane was sent on a terrifying full nosedive when the teenager allegedly jumped up from his seat and grabbed the yoke - a wheel used to control altitude. With the help of other passengers, the pilot was eventually able to wrestle back control as the plane hurtled towards the ground. The plane was in the process of landing and about five miles from the airport when the incident occurred. It reached its destination safely where the 18-year-old was arrested. Lake-Kameroff now faces charges of terroristic threatening, assault and attempted assault, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. According to an affidavit by trooper Jason Bohac, Lake-Kameroff said he wanted to end his life on the plane. He had initially asked the pilot to fly earlier than scheduled and then said he wanted to sit up at the front in the co-pilot seat, according the document. When both requests were denied, he left his seat and attempted to send the plane crashing to the ground, the affidavit states.

One passenger, identified as Alice Samuelson, told Bohac the teenager seemed to have severe anxiety before boarding the plane. She said he was eventually restrained by other people on the plane.  Lee Ryan, president of Ryan Air, the company that operated the flight, said the passenger "was in the second row of seats and kind of just reached over the copilot seat and briefly grabbed control of the aircraft." The pilot moved the passenger back and regained control of the aircraft "very professionally", Ryan said.

Lake-Kameroff was arrested by state troopers and charged with second-degree terroristic threatening, five counts of first-degree attempted assault and four counts of third-degree assault.