2023-10-25 00:03:22
Attempted engine shutdown
Fellow pilot consumed magic mushrooms
Joseph Emerson was under the influence of drugs and had not slept in 40 hours when he tried to turn off the engines on board an Air Alaska plane.
Published25. October 2023, 02:03
Joseph Emerson was an all-around popular…
… and also known as an impeccable pilot.
Emerson lives with his partner and their two sons in Pleasant Hill, near San Francisco.
After the unscheduled landing in Portland, Oregon, Emerson was taken away and arrested.
Aubrey Gavello
The affected aircraft was an Embraer 175.
Alaska Airlines
On Sunday, a man tried to turn off the engines on board an Air Alaska plane.
Joseph Emerson, himself a pilot for the airline, would have killed 83 people.
Joseph Emerson explained his behavior by previously consuming so-called magic mushrooms.
After his unsuccessful attemptto turn off the engines on a US domestic flight, has one in the cockpit accompanying pilot explains that he had previously consumed so-called “magic mushrooms”. The off-duty pilot on the flight, Joseph Emerson, told police it was his first time taking hallucinogenic mushrooms. The 44-year-old explained that he had not slept for 40 hours and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The airline Alaska Airlines announced on Monday that on the flight of its regional subsidiary Horizon Air from Everett in the west coast state of Washington to San Francisco, California, the Alaska Airlines pilot, who was traveling on a folding seat in the cockpit, “tried unsuccessfully to interrupt the operation of the engines.”
Overwhelmed by crew
“The Horizon captain and first officer responded quickly, engine power was not interrupted and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.” The airline said the incident posed a “credible security threat.”
According to the Justice Department, early in the flight, following speaking with the pilots, Emerson reached for switches that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to the engines.
Arrested in Oregon
After the crew subdued him, Emerson was taken to the back of the plane in handcuffs. There he tried to open an emergency exit – but a flight attendant prevented this, as the Justice Department explained. Emerson was restrained by cabin crew throughout the remainder of the flight.
The Embraer E-175 plane with 80 passengers on board was diverted and landed in Portland, Oregon, where the pilot was arrested. According to the sheriff’s office, Emerson is charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, endangering the life of others and endangering an aircraft.
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.
(AFP/chk)
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