Joseph Emerson ex Alaska Airlines pilot pleads guilty attempting to cut engines while riding in cockpit seat of Horizon Air while high on mushrooms [VIDEO]

A former Alaska Airlines pilot who attempted to turn off a plane's engine mid-flight while riding off-duty in the cockpit has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. 

Joseph Emerson, 46, of East Bay, was aboard a Horizon Air flight to San Francisco on October 22, 2023, when he attempted to turn off the engines' fuel supply, authorities said. The plane was'safely' diverted to Portland at the time of the 'incident,' with more than 80 people on board.

His lawyer, Noah Horst, told ABC7News that the pilot reached an agreement because he wants to accept responsibility for his conduct and avoid more time in prison.

 

High on magic mushrooms and caught in a bad dream

Emerson told police he was despondent over a friend’s recent death, had taken psychedelic mushrooms about two days earlier, and hadn’t slept in over 40 hours. He has said he believed he was dreaming at the time and that he was trying to wake himself up by grabbing two red handles that would have activated the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.

Emerson claimed he was still experiencing the drug’s effects when he boarded the flight as an off-duty pilot and became convinced his surroundings weren’t real.

‘There was a feeling of being trapped, like, ‘Am I trapped in this airplane and now I’ll never go home?” he recalled.

He said he was brought back to reality when the crew stopped him.

Following his arrest, Emerson was charged in federal court with interfering with a flight crew. A state indictment in Oregon separately charged him with 83 counts of endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft.

He previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges, but on Friday was expected to plead guilty to the federal charge and no-contest to the state charge, which carries the same legal effect as a guilty plea.

Emerson was released from custody in December 2023 pending trial, with requirements that he undergo mental health services, stay off drugs and alcohol, and keep away from aircraft. In the meantime, he has founded a nonprofit focused on pilot mental health.