Pilot who ‘tried to shut off engines mid-flight was high on magic mushrooms’
Pilot who ‘tried to shut off engines mid-flight was high on magic mushrooms’
Joseph Emerson, who was off-duty at the time, was restrained by Alaska Airlines cabin crew after he tried to open an emergency exit
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The off-duty US pilot who allegedly tried to shut down the engines of a plane in mid-air had taken magic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, court documents state.
Pilots wrestled Joseph Emerson out of the cockpit on Sunday after he is said to have lunged for controls that would have starved the engines of fuel and turned the plane into a glider.
Emerson, who told police he had not slept in 40 hours, also tried to open an emergency exit in the rear of the aircraft and had to be restrained by the cabin crew during an emergency landing.
“I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just want to wake up,” Emerson told police, according to a criminal complaint.
Emerson and the investigating officer “talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first time taking mushrooms”.
The 44-year-old was arrested on Sunday evening after the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. He is charged with 83 counts of attempted murder.
Emerson had boarded the flight - which was operated by Horizon Air - between Everett, Washington, and San Francisco, sitting in the jump seat of the cockpit, in line with airline policy for non-working staff.
A short way into the journey, after chatting with the pilots, “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”, the Department of Justice said.
“After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit.”
Emerson, pictured on a previous flight, has been 'removed from service indefinitely' On Monday, Alaska Airlines said pilots had reacted quickly to reverse the handles and the aircraft had landed safely.
“During the flight’s descent, Emerson tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit. A flight attendant stopped him by placing her hands on top of his,” the Department of Justice said.
“Flight attendants placed Emerson in wrist restraints and seated him in the rear of the aircraft.”
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said Emerson faces a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.
He has also been charged in Oregon with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft.
US media reported he pleaded not guilty to these charges during a brief court appearance in Portland on Tuesday.
Live ATC, a website that archives conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers, published an audio recording of the moments after the incident.
“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit,” the pilot said. “And he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now.
“I think he’s subdued. Other than that, yeah, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked,” the pilot said.
On Tuesday, Alaska Airlines said Emerson had been “removed from service indefinitely and relieved from all duties”.
As someone who's been severely sleep deprived before, I hope he gets help and not prison. I don't know what led to him being awake for 40hrs, but something makes me think it wasn't the shrooms that kept him awake because, afaik, they should have worn off long before he boarded the flight.
I've never taken shrooms but every single shroom-related story I've ever been told has ended with "...and then I fell asleep."
Usually after "So I took some shrooms and watched The Wall..."
“I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just want to wake up”
lmao. Maybe get a dream exit strategy that doesn’t double as a real-world major safety disruption.