Off-duty SDPD officers helped stop Alaska Airlines cockpit from being stormed

When a student pilot allegedly tried getting into the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month, off-duty San Diego police officers stepped in to help, police said on Thursday.

“SDPD had eight off-duty officers on board the flight, heading to training on the East Coast, that assisted in this situation," according to SDPD Lt. Dan Meyer.

Nathan Jones, 19, was aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 322 from San Diego to Dulles International Airport on March 3 when he "made three separate attempts to go to the front of the plane and open the aircraft's cockpit door," according to an affidavit by Federal Air Marshal Thomas Pattinson, NBC News reports.

Flight attendants "requested the assistance of off-duty law enforcement officers, who restrained Jones in flex cuffs and sat on either side of him for the remainder of the flight," Pattinson added.

When flight attendants asked Jones what he was doing, the defendant allegedly said he "was testing them," according to the affidavit.

With 31,000 hours of flying time, retired pilot Joe Graham has just about seen it all. Jones may have attempted to get into the cockpit mid-flight, but Graham says he was more of a threat to himself than other passengers.

"He couldn't have gotten through that door with a gun," Graham told NBC 7's Dave Summers. "We haven't had a cockpit occurrence since 9/11. We really learned our lessons there."

Jones has been charged with alleged interference with a flight crew, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars.

Jones had been living with his mother in Northern Virginia before this incident and defense lawyer Robert Jenkins wants his client psychologically evaluated before any kind of trial.

"We are very concerned about his mental health," Jenkins said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday. "I intend to request that the court evaluating him for competency to stand trial."

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.