2023-12-06 09:50:48
Published6. December 2023, 10:50
USA: Pilot travels on a folding seat in the cockpit – and suddenly intervenes
Joseph Emerson is charged with 84 counts for his actions on an Air Alaska flight. According to his own statement, the pilot wanted to wake up from a delirious state with a crash.
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A US pilot has to stand trial because he tried to switch off the engines on a flight.
Joseph Emerson was an all-around popular…
… and also known as an impeccable pilot.
That’s what it’s about
Joseph Emerson is charged with 83 counts of endangering human life.
The off-duty pilot attempted to shut down the engines of an Air Alaska flight.
At the time of the crime he was under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
A US pilot has to stand trial after his unsuccessful attempt to switch off the engines on a domestic flight. A grand jury in the state of Oregon, where the Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing after the incident in October, indicted 44-year-old Joseph Emerson on 84 counts, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Pilot endangered 83 lives
He has to answer in 83 cases for endangering the lives of the 83 people on board and in one case for endangering an aircraft, as the responsible public prosecutor Mike Schmidt explained. No charges of attempted murder were filed. Emerson is due in court on Thursday.
After the incident, the airline Alaska Airlines announced that on the flight of its regional subsidiary Horizon Air from Everett in Washington state to San Francisco, California, the pilot, who was traveling on a folding seat in the cockpit, “tried unsuccessfully to interrupt the operation of the engines.” The 44-year-old was not on duty at the time.
According to the Justice Department, Emerson reached for switches that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and shut off fuel to the engines. However, he was overpowered by the crew and taken to the back of the plane in handcuffs. There he tried to open an emergency exit – but a flight attendant prevented this.
Cabin crew had to restrain Emerson
Emerson was restrained by cabin crew throughout the remainder of the flight. The Embraer E-175 aircraft was diverted and landed in Portland, Oregon, where the pilot was arrested.
According to court documents, Emerson told police after his arrest that he had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms for the first time before the flight, had not slept for 40 hours and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “I pulled the two emergency levers because I thought I was dreaming and just wanted to wake up.” He pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing.
Airlines allow their pilots and flight attendants to travel on planes with so-called standby tickets if a seat is available. When the plane is full, employees sometimes sit on a folding seat in the cockpit. Emerson was suspended from the airline and relieved of all duties following the incident.
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(AFP/bho)
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