An Alaska Airlines pilot has appeared in court on 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut down a plane’s engine ‘while high on magic mushrooms’.
Joseph Emerson, 44, was off-duty and sitting in the jump seat in the cockpit of a Horizon Air plane from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on Sunday when he allegedly tried to shut off the engines’ fuel supply.
Emerson, who is being held without bail at Multnomah County Jail, was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon, October 24, in an Oregon court following the incident over the weekend.
During the short hearing, Emerson appeared before the court in a blue prison jumpsuit with a pink t-shirt underneath.
Emerson did not address the court directly but did speak to his attorney from behind a partition. He pleaded not guilty to all 83 counts of attempted murder through his lawyer.
He was also charged in federal court for interfering with flight crew and also faces state charges of 83 counts of attempted murder and reckless endangerment.
According to a federal affidavit, Emerson said ‘I’m not okay’ before reaching up to grab two red fire handles which would have cut the plane’s engines, and he later told federal officials: ‘Yah …I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.’
The affidavit also states Emerson reported becoming depressed around six months ago, and said it was his first time taking psychedelic mushrooms.
The plane made an emergency landing in Oregon where Emerson was arrested.
In a statement from the District of Oregon Department of Justice, they said: ‘Emerson attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.
‘After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit,’ said a statement from the District of Oregon Department of Justice.
Emerson had been casually speaking to the plane’s two pilots about the weather and the fact he’d been an employee there for ten years when he suddenly threw his headset across the cockpit and announced ‘I am not okay’, court documents state.
After reaching for the two red levers, one of the pilots ‘wrestled’ him off before declaring an in-flight emergency and telling flight attendants Emerson was ‘losing it’. They then turned off the autopilot and changed course for Portland, the affidavit states.
Flight attendants had to place Emerson in wrist restraints and seat him in the rear of the aircraft. Emerson then tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit and a flight attendant stopped him by placing her hands on top of his, according to the DOJ.
One of the attendants also claimed he made statements including ‘I messed everything up’, and ‘he tried to kill everybody’.
In a recorded interview with cops, Emerson said he believed he was having a ‘nervous breakdown’ and had not slept in 40 hours, the affidavit states.
‘I didn’t feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren’t paying attention to what was going on. They didn’t… it didn’t seem right,’ he told police.
Emerson denied taking any medication but spoke with cops about using psychedelic mushrooms – telling them it was his first time taking the drug.
According to the affidavit, Emerson asked if he could waive his right to an attorney at the Port of Portland police department, and said: ‘I’m admitting to what I did. I’m not fighting any charges you want to bring against me, guys.’
Emerson had been sitting in the third ‘jump’ seat of the cockpit when the chaos started – a seat commonly used by off-duty pilots who need to fly a later flight so they don’t need to take up a passenger seat.
The captain told ground control: ‘We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit. He doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now, and I think he’s subdued. Other than that, yeah, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked.’
There were 80 passengers including children along with four crewmembers on board the plane.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said that Emerson attempted to turn off the engines by engaging the engine fire suppression system.
‘If the T-handle is fully deployed, a valve in the wing closes to shut off fuel to the engine. In this case, the quick reaction of our crew to reset the T-handles ensured engine power was not lost,’ Alaska Airlines said.
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