2023-10-25 00:19:45
Joseph David Emerson is accused of trying to disable airplane engines (Multnomah Circuit Court/Handout via REUTERS)
An off-duty airline pilot traveling in an extra seat in the cabin of a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not fine” just before trying to shut down the engines mid-flight and later told police he had taken psychedelic mushrooms. as his mental health worsened, according to charging documents made public Tuesday.
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Oregon state prosecutors on Tuesday filed 83 counts of attempted murder once morest Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, just before his court appearance, and his attorney, Noah Horst. pleaded not guilty on his behalf. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors charged Emerson with interfering with a flight crew, which can carry up to 20 years in prison.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Emerson told Port of Portland police following his arrest that he had been struggling with depression, that a friend had recently died and that he had taken mushrooms. psychedelics regarding 48 hours before trying to turn off the engines. He also said he had not slept in more than 40 hours, according to the document.
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Police reported that Emerson did not appear to be intoxicated at the time of the interview, and in a statement Tuesday, Alaska Airlines, which owns Horizon, said neither gate agents nor the flight crew noticed any signs of impairment that might having prevented him from entering the flight. An FBI agent wrote in a probable cause affidavit in support of the federal prosecution that Emerson “said it was the first time he had consumed mushrooms.”
While psilocybin is illegal in most of the country (Oregon legalized it for adults this year), the Food and Drug Administration designated it in 2018 as a “breakthrough therapy” that might be used for mental health conditions or use disorders. of substances.
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Emerson, an Alaska Airlines pilot from Pleasant Hill, California, was arrested Sunday night following the flight crew reported that he attempted to shut down the engines on a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco while traveling in the additional seat in the cabin. The plane was diverted to Portland, where it landed safely with more than 80 people on board.
Emerson, an Alaska Airlines pilot from Pleasant Hill, California, was arrested Sunday night (REUTERS/Todd Korol)
The FBI affidavit says Emerson, who as an off-duty pilot was authorized to ride in the jump seat in the cockpit, had an informal conversation with the captain and first officer when the plane was between Astoria, Oregon, and Portland, before of trying to grab two red handles that would have activated the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.
After what the flight crew described as a brief struggle, which lasted only regarding 30 seconds, Emerson left the cockpit, the FBI said.
Flight attendants placed Emerson in wrist restraints and seated him in the back of the plane, but as the plane descended, he attempted to grab the handle of an emergency exit, according to the document. A flight attendant stopped him by placing her hands on his, she said.
Alaska Airlines said Tuesday that Emerson had been relieved of all duties.
The captain and first officer told police following the plane landed that Emerson said “I’m not okay” just before reaching out to pull the handles. They were able to stop him before he lowered the handles completely, according to the affidavit.
Emerson calmly walked to the back of the plane following he was ordered to leave the cabin and told a flight attendant, “You have to handcuff me right now or everything is going to go bad,” the affidavit said. Another flight attendant heard him say, “I ruined everything” and “I tried to kill everyone.”
According to the affidavit, he asked police if he might waive his right to an attorney: “I’m admitting what I did. “I’m not going to fight any charges you guys want to bring once morest me.”
He also told them he thought he was having a nervous breakdown and said, “I pulled both emergency shut-off handles because I thought I was dreaming and just wanted to wake up,” according to the affidavit.
Pilots must undergo psychological testing as part of their regularly scheduled medical exams. There have been accidents that investigators believe were deliberately caused by pilots. Authorities said the co-pilot of a Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps in 2015 had practiced bringing the plane down.
Emerson took his most recent exam in September, Federal Aviation Administration records show, but according to charging documents, he had long been battling depression.
Emerson would remain in state custody pending an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
Mark Angelos, senior flight instructor at the NRI Flying Club in Concord, California, has known Emerson for more than 10 years. Emerson used to be president of the club and designed its safety program, meaning he was in charge of making sure instructors followed standard operating procedures, Angelos said.
Angelos said when he and other club members initially heard the news, they thought Horizon Air must have been conducting an emergency drill to test its crew. They mightn’t believe that a person they saw as a family man who loved his children might be accused of such a thing.
“It just mightn’t have been our Joe,” he said.
(With information from AP)
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