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<\/p>\nAn Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly attempted to crash a plane mid-flight said he was on magic mushrooms and thought he was dreaming during the shocking incident, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
Joseph Emerson is facing charges including 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft after he allegedly tried to cut off the fuel to the engines of a passenger jet flying from Everett, Washington to San Francisco on Sunday. The 44-year-old was off-duty during the Horizon Air flight and had been sitting in the cockpit's jump seat when he suddenly threw his headset across the cockpit and announced "I'm not okay", according to an FBI agent's affidavit.<\/p>\n
Emerson then grabbed a set of red fire handles and attempted to pull them down, the affidavit states. Pulling the fire handles activates the fire suppression system used to extinguish aircraft engine fires which would shut off the fuel supply to the engines.<\/p>\n
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The two other pilots in the cockpit with Emerson told officers they'd had a casual conversation with him about the weather and that there was zero indication anything was wrong. But when he reached for the fire handles one of the pilots "wrestled" with him for 20 to 30 seconds while the other declared an inflight emergency, turned off autopilot and changed course for Portland, according to the affidavit, which was part of a criminal complaint filed on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
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A flight attendant also recalled receiving a call from the cockpit that Emerson was "losing it". The whole ordeal lasted around 90 seconds and when Emerson eventually settled down he was made to leave the cockpit, with the door being secured behind him, the court document stated. <\/p>\n
The incident didn't end there though, according to the affidavit Emerson was observed walking calmly to the back of the plane and told one flight attendant he "just got kicked out of the flight deck" before adding: \u201cYou need to cuff me right now or it\u2019s going to be bad.\u201d The flight attendants put Emerson in cuffs but during the flight's descent, he then attempted to grab the handle of an emergency exit door and was stopped by a flight attendant who placed her hands on top of his.<\/p>\n
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Another of the flight attendants also claimed Emerson made statements including \u201cI messed everything up\u201d and that \u201che tried to kill everybody.\u201d She said she also spotted him texting and he was heard saying he had just put 84 peoples\u2019 lives at risk, including his own.<\/p>\n
Responding officers detained Emerson once the plane landed at Portland airport and during an interview with police he told them he believed he was having a "nervous breakdown" and that he'd become depressed six months ago. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren\u2019t paying attention to what was going on. They didn\u2019t\u2026it didn\u2019t seem right," Emerson told them.<\/p>\n
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He denied taking any medication but spoke with cops about using psychedelic mushrooms. He told them it was his first time taking the drug and said he felt dehydrated and tired as he claimed he hadn't slept in 40 hours, court documents state. <\/p>\n
Emerson also told the officers: \u201cYah\u2026I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.\u201d According to a different affidavit filed by a Multnomah County deputy district attorney, Emerson told police he'd taken the magic mushrooms around 48 hours before Sunday's incident. <\/p>\n
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He also told another officer he'd been struggling with depression for six years and a friend of his had recently died. Emerson had not been successful in pulling the red handles down all the way to fully activate the engine shut off but the other pilots said if he had, it would have shut down the hydraulics and fuel to the engines, turning the plane into a glider within seconds.<\/p>\n
According to the FBI affidavit, Emerson asked if he could waive his right to an attorney as he said: \u201cI\u2019m admitting to what I did. I\u2019m not fighting any charges you want to bring against me, guys.\u201d But in court on Tuesday he pleaded not guilty to all the felony charges, which included the 83 counts of attempted murder. <\/p>\n
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The plane had been carrying 80 passengers, including children, along with four crew members during the incident. No one on board was harmed and all passengers were able to complete their journey with a new aircraft. <\/p>\n
Emerson, who has been a pilot since 2001, is also facing a federal charge for endangering a flight crew, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said in a release. He remains in custody in Multnomah County and will face the federal charge at a later date.<\/p>\n
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