A former airline pilot who was arrested last month for allegedly tried to shut off the engines during a plane flight to California is speaking out about the ordeal.
Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, was off duty but approved to be in the cockpit during the Horizon Air flight that departed from Washington on October 26. Emerson was sitting in the cockpit jumpseat, which is located behind the pilots, when he allegedly tried to shut off the plane’s engines.
Emerson said he had taken psychedelic mushrooms two days before the incident to deal with the grief of losing a friend, according to The New York Times. The New York Times’ report noted that pilots risk being suspended if they seek psychiatric care or prescriptions — a standard that may have influenced Emerson to self-medicate with mushrooms and alcohol.
Emerson said that he was overcome with dread and fear after taking the psychedelic mushrooms. He claimed on the day of the incident, he texted a friend from the cockpit that he was having a panic attack.
“I thought of a lot of traumatic things in that time where I was like, ‘Am I dead? Is this hell?’” he told The New York Times. “I’m reliving that trauma.”
The friend reportedly told Emerson in a voice message to do “breathing exercises” — which made no sense to Emerson and led him to scream at the pilots operating the plane, asking for help. Emerson claimed he believed the whole exchange was a hallucination, so he grabbed the engine’s shut-off handles in hopes of waking up.
The pilots reportedly grabbed Emerson’s wrists and put the handles back in place before the engines ran out of fuel. Emerson told The New York Times that he then exited the cockpit and asked the flight attendants for help before walking to the back of the plane.
“I’ve made a big mistake,” he reportedly texted his wife.
The Washington-bound flight was diverted in Portland, where Emerson was arrested on 83 counts of attempted murder. He told The New York Times that it was not until five days after taking the mushrooms that his sense of reality started to come back.
According to The Hill, passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight have filed a lawsuit against the company — claiming it violated protocol by letting Emerson in the cockpit even though he mentioned feeling unwell.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Featured image: Joseph Emerson/Facebook]
