The off-duty pilot accused of attempting to crash an Alaska Airlines passenger plane allegedly attempted to shut down the engines “by operating the engine fire lever,” according to the airline.
The fire extinguishing system in the aircraft consists of a T-valve handle for each engine. When those handles are fully extended, a valve in the wing closes to shut off fuel to the engine, Alaska Airlines said.
Our crew’s “quick response in resetting the T-handles ensured there was no loss of engine power,” Alaska Airlines said.
At the time of Sunday’s incident, off-duty Capt. Joseph David Emerson was sitting in the jump seat in the cockpit, Alaska Airlines said.
Pilot Joseph Emerson in an undated photo.Joseph Emerson/Facebook
Emerson chatted “casually” with the pilots before allegedly attempting 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,” prosecutors said.
According to the criminal complaint, Emerson allegedly said, “I’m not feeling well” and reached for the red fire handles.
However, Emerson was “unable” to pull the red T-handles all the way down and fully apply the engine shutdown because the pilots “wrestled with Emerson,” the complaint says.
Pilot Joseph Emerson in a photo from 2016.Joseph Emerson/Facebook
The flight was en route from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco when it was diverted to Portland, Oregon, the airline said. According to a federal official, Emerson was supposed to be on the flight crew of a 737 that left San Francisco.
From the time Emerson said “I’m not feeling well” to the moment he excited the cockpit, about 90 seconds passed, the complaint says.
Flight attendants handcuffed Emerson and placed him in the back of the plane, prosecutors said.
Emerson allegedly told a flight attendant that “he just got thrown off the flight deck” and “I need you to handcuff me now or things will get bad,” the complaint states.
As the plane descended, Emerson allegedly attempted to “grab the handle of an emergency exit” but was stopped by a flight attendant, prosecutors said.
Emerson was taken into custody in Portland and faces charges including 83 counts of attempted murder, officials said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon.
Passengers Aubrey Gavello and Alex Wood, who were aboard the Alaska 2059 on October 22, 2023. Aubrey Gavello
Emerson allegedly told officers he thought he was having a “nervous breakdown,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, he said, “I pulled both emergency stop handles because I thought I was dreaming and just wanted to wake up.”
Emerson said he had not slept for 40 hours before the incident and had allegedly discussed consuming psychedelic mushrooms, the complaint states.
Emerson also said he became depressed about six months ago, according to the complaint.
According to a source familiar with the investigation, the FBI is investigating exactly when he took the mushrooms. They are trying to determine whether it was a psychedelic trip, a mental health crisis or something else, the source said.
Passengers Aubrey Gavello and Alex Wood, who were aboard the Alaska 2059 on October 22, 2023. Aubrey Gavello
Alaska said there were 80 passengers and four crew members on the flight.
“We didn’t know anything was happening until the flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and announced there was an emergency and the plane needed to land immediately,” passenger Aubrey Gavello told ABC News. “…About 15 minutes later she got back in and said there was a medical emergency.”
Gavello said she heard a flight attendant say to the suspect, “We’ll be fine, it’s okay, we’ll get you off the plane.”
“After we landed and the gentleman was taken away, the flight attendant went back on the loudspeaker and simply said, ‘He had a nervous breakdown. We had to get him off the plane immediately,’” Gavello said.
Alaska said Emerson joined the airline in 2001 as Horizon’s first officer. He then left the airline in 2012 to join Virgin America as a pilot. Emerson returned to Alaska in 2016 when the airline acquired Virgin America and became a captain with Alaska in 2019, the airline said.
Alaska said that during Emerson’s time with the airline, he “completed his required FAA medical certifications in accordance with regulatory requirements and at no time were his certifications denied, suspended or revoked.”
The incident is being investigated by law enforcement, the airline said. The FBI said it “can assure the traveling public that there is no ongoing threat associated with this incident.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to airlines that the incident was “in no way related to current world events.”