An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot accused of attempting to shut down the engines of a plane en route to San Francisco on Sunday indicated that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms at the time of the incident, reportedly stating that he “tried to kill everyone.” according to federal court documents.
Joseph David Emerson of Pleasant Hill faces 83 state charges of attempted murder after allegedly trying to bring down the plane, and court documents released Tuesday show federal officials will seek additional charges of interfering with flight crew members and flight attendants. He was fired from his job, Alaska Airlines said on Tuesday.
The federal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, sheds additional light on the chaotic moments surrounding the incident and is the first to publicly allege that Emerson may have been taking mind-altering substances at the time of the flight.
In the parallel case filed by the Multnomah County district attorney, prosecutors say Emerson told investigators he had consumed psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before boarding the plane, that he had struggled with depression for six years and that a friend recently died. It was Emerson’s first ingestion of mushrooms, federal officials said in their complaint.
He appeared in court Tuesday afternoon with his attorney, who pleaded not guilty to all counts on Emerson’s behalf. Prosecutors are seeking an order keeping Emerson in prison, but Judge Jenna Plank said the matter would be decided at a “more robust” hearing within five days.
Shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, police in Portland, Oregon, responded to a report of a disturbance on an incoming plane after a man sitting in the jump seat in the cockpit attempted to shut off the engines mid-flight.
The pilots later told police that Emerson appeared to be fine at the start of the flight and that he engaged the pilots in a conversation about the weather and the plane, the federal complaint says. In a statement, Alaska Airlines said that all of its gate agents and flight attendants are trained to recognize signs and symptoms of impairment, but that none of the agents who interacted with Emerson noticed such signs when they checked him in and boarded him .
Sometime between Astoria and Portland, Emerson threw his headset over the cockpit and announced, “I’m not feeling well,” the pilots told police. Emerson then allegedly grabbed the red fire handles and pulled them downward – an action that activated the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel to the engines, one of the pilots told police.
According to federal officials, Emerson said, “Yes… I pulled both emergency stop handles because I thought I was dreaming and just waking up.”
One of the two pilots on duty grabbed Emerson’s wrists while the other declared an in-flight emergency. The pilot and Emerson “wrestled” with each other for several seconds before Emerson suddenly calmed down and then calmly complied when the pilots asked him to leave the cockpit, the pilots told law enforcement officials.
After police interviews with several flight attendants, Emerson then went to the back of the plane and told a flight attendant that he had just been thrown off the flight deck.
“You have to handcuff me right now or it’s going to get bad,” Emerson allegedly said.
The flight attendants then placed Emerson in one of the flight attendant seats and handcuffed him. But during the descent, Emerson turned toward an emergency exit and tried to pull the handle, which a flight attendant stopped by placing her hands on his hands, the complaint says.
Another flight attendant heard Emerson say he “messed everything up” and “tried to kill everyone.”
Emerson was taken into custody after the flight landed in Portland.
“I don’t understand why you’re showing me so much kindness, I’m obviously exhausted,” he said to one of the responding officers, according to an affidavit supporting the state charges.
During an interview with police, Emerson allegedly told officers that he thought he was having a nervous breakdown and that he had not slept in more than 40 hours. Emerson said that while he was sitting in the cockpit, he felt like the pilots “weren’t paying attention to what was going on…it didn’t seem right.”
Officials said Emerson then began discussing the use of psychedelic mushrooms.
Police said Emerson waived his right to an attorney. “I admit what I did,” he said, according to the affidavit. “I’m not fighting the charges you want to bring against me, boys.”
Alaska Airlines said in a statement that the company had reviewed the complaint against Emerson and confirmed that all details describing the flight crew’s actions were “consistent with our understanding.” The airline said Emerson, who became an Alaska Airlines captain in 2019, has been “indefinitely removed from duty and relieved of all duties.”
According to the airline, the Department of Transportation requires on-duty crew members to undergo drug testing, both random and if drug use is suspected. Ross Aimer, a former United pilot and now CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, said an off-duty pilot sitting in the jump seat would not be checked.
Drug testing is random and can be conducted before or after a pilot’s work day. Pilots on extended leave are also not tested for drugs, Aimer said.
Matthias Gafni and Megan Fan Munce contributed to this report.
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