UPDATE
Dec 5, 2023 8:28 PM CST
The Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to turn off an aircraft's engines midflight was indicted on 84 counts Tuesday—but none of them were attempted murder. Instead, an Oregon grand jury indicted Joseph Emerson on one count of endangering aircraft in the first degree and 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person, CNN reports. Emerson's attorneys welcomed the decision not to charge him with attempted murder, but said he shouldn't be facing any charges because he "thought he was in a dream" and had no intention of harming anybody or putting anybody at risk, reports the AP.
Oct 24, 2023 6:13 PM CDT
Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson's first experience with psychedelic mushrooms left him facing 83 counts of attempted murder, according to court documents. Emerson is accused of trying to turn off an aircraft's engines during a Sunday flight when he was off-duty and sitting in the cockpit's jump seat. According to a federal criminal complaint, he told a police officer he had been depressed for months and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, the New York Times reports. Emerson and the officer "talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms, and Emerson said it was his first time taking mushrooms," the complaint states.
Emerson said he had taken the "magic" mushrooms around 48 hours before the flight and he hadn't slept for 40 hours, Reuters reports. According to court documents, he told the captain and first officer "I'm not OK" before he tried to grab two red handles that would have cut off fuel to the aircraft's engines. They managed to stop him pulling the handles all the way down and Emerson was subdued before the Everett-San Francisco flight made an emergency stop in Portland. Court documents state that a flight attendant heard Emerson say "I messed everything up" and "tried to kill everybody," the AP reports.
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Court documents state that Emerson, who has been a pilot for more than 20 years, told police he pulled the emergency shut-off handles "because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up." The federal complaint states that if Emerson had pulled the handles all the way down, "it would have shut down the hydraulics and the fuel to the engines, turning the aircraft into a glider within seconds," The plane had 84 passengers and crew, including Emerson. He faces charges including 83 felony counts of attempted murder in Oregon, along with a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew. (More Alaska Airlines stories.)
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