Off-Duty Pilot Was In A Jumpseat In The Cockpit
Had Eaten Mushrooms, Authorities Say
Plane Barely Recovered From The Incident
A 44-year old Alaska Airlines pilot named Joseph Emerson has been charged with 83 felony counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of endangering an aircraft.
The charges came from his attempt (say authorities) of trying to shut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines flight from Washington State to San Francisco on Sunday, October 22nd, 2023.
The out-of-control off-duty pilot tried to down the plane by grabbing the controls from his jumpseat in the cockpit, where he was traveling behind the plane's pilots. The jumpseat is a courtesy extended by the airline to its pilots.
After chit-chatting with the crew, the plane's staff said that Emerson suddenly yelled "I'm not okay!" and grabbed the handles of the fire suppression system. If the crew hadn't been able to fight him off, the plane would have gone into a glide without power.
Apparently, Emerson felt he was doing wrong, and then told a flight attendant "You need to cuff me right now." He also tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued, say police reports. The plane was sent to Portland International, where he was taken into custody.
Emerson told officers he had used hallucinogenic mushrooms, they said.
