2023-10-25 01:17:00
Reference image of a plane that took off from an airport in the United States.
Photo: Bloomberg – Al Drago
The American pilot who tried to shut down a plane’s engines in mid-flight while he was a passenger had taken psychedelic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, court documents showed Tuesday. Pilots operating the plane pulled Joseph Emerson from the cockpit Sunday after he lunged for handles that could have starved the engines of fuel, turning the plane into a glider.
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Emerson, who told police he had not slept in 40 hours, also tried to open an emergency door in the back of the plane and had to be restrained by the crew during a crash landing. “I pulled the emergency lock handles because I thought I was dreaming and wanted to wake up,” Emerson told authorities, according to the criminal complaint. He and the officer in charge of the investigation “discussed the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first time taking them.”
The 44-year-old man was arrested Sunday night after the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. According to the US District Attorney’s Office, Emerson faces a federal charge of interfering with crew members and flight attendants. He has also been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and endangering an aircraft. American media reported this Tuesday that, in his first appearance in court, he pleaded not guilty.
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Emerson had boarded the flight (operated by Horizon Air) between Everett, Washington state, and San Francisco, California. He sat in a seat in the cabin, in accordance with the airline’s provisions for his off-duty personnel.
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Shortly after takeoff, after speaking with the pilots, “he attempted to grab and pull the two red handles that could have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system, depriving its engines of fuel,” the Justice Department said. “After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit.”
Alaska Airlines said Monday that the pilots reacted quickly, reversing the handles, and the aircraft landed safely. “The crew tied Emerson’s wrists and sat him in the back of the plane,” the Justice Department said. “During the plane’s descent, he tried to grab the emergency door handle. A flight attendant stopped him, grabbing his hands.”
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