COURT DOCS: Off-duty pilot tries to open emergency exit after attempting to shut down plane’s engine

An off-duty pilot is accused of trying to shut down a plane’s engine mid-flight and trying to open the emergency exit. Court documents say he told officers he had taken “magic mushrooms” 48 hours before the incident.

COURT:

Joseph Emerson, a Washington native, is now facing a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants, in addition to Oregon State’s original charges, which include 83 counts of attempted murder.

He appeared in court in Portland on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.

His defense attorney entered a plea of not guilty for all counts.

The judge told Emerson that he had the right to attend a “robust hearing” across the street from the courthouse, within five days.

His next court appearance is currently scheduled for November 1 at 9:30 a.m.

According to the court documents, Emmerson did not have any prior felony or misdemeanor convictions before Tuesday’s hearing.

COURT DOCUMENTS:

We obtained court documents Tuesday that outlined what had allegedly happened on the Alaska Airlines flight, operated by Horizon Air, traveling from Everett to San Francisco.

Court documents indicate that Emerson was sitting in the jumpseat inside the cockpit and talked with the two pilots about the aircraft and the weather.

A pilot told police in an interview that he did not see any signs from Emerson, showing something was wrong.

The second pilot told authorities that Emerson threw his headset across the cockpit and told them he was not okay.

He grabbed the handles of the plane’s fire suppression system, and pulled them down, the pilots said, preventing the plane’s engine from getting more fuel.

The court documents said that the pilots had a physical struggle with Emerson for about 30 seconds.

The pilots told Emerson to leave the cockpit and declared an in-flight emergency.

A pilot told police that Emerson was not able to pull the handles down completely due to the pilots’ response. If he was successful, it would have also shut off the plane’s hydraulics and turned the plane into a gilder within seconds.

The incident happened when the plane was about halfway between Astoria, OR, and Portland, OR.

Emerson later walked to the back of the plane where he sat down.

The pilots had notified the flight attendants that Emerson was “losing it,” and needed to get out of the cockpit, court documents said.

We spoke with Paul Stephens, a Seattle resident who was sitting in the 3rd row of the plane and witnessed Emerson leave the cockpit.

“That individual left the cockpit and walked to the back of the plane on his own without any escort. I don’t know the airline’s policy. To me, that is a miss. The perpetrator that was just subdued to walk freely from the front of the airplane to the back. I couldn’t see if his hands were zip-tied or not. I just saw he was by himself. He could reach over. He could start choking someone, or open an emergency door,” said Stephens.

According to court documents, Emerson tried to open an emergency exit.

A flight attendant quickly stopped Emerson and tried to talk with him to distract him from grabbing the exit door’s handle again, say court documents.

Another flight attendant told police that she overheard Emerson say “I messed everything up,” and that “he tried to kill everybody.”

The court documents add that the flight attendant also noticed Emerson texting on his phone, and heard him say he “had just put 84 people’s lives at risk tonight including his own.”

Police later arrested Emerson and interviewed him.

They said Emerson told them he had a nervous breakdown and had not slept in 40 hours. He also told police that he thought he was dreaming when he was sitting inside the cockpit.

“Yah… I pulled both emergency shut-off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up,” the court documents describe Emerson’s response to police.

Emerson denied taking any medication but said he had suffered from depression and took “magic mushrooms” 48 hours before the incident.

Emerson said it was his first time taking the mushrooms.

When the US Attorney’s Office was asked if Emerson was under the influence during the incident, a spokesperson said that was under investigation.

We spoke with Alan Rockefeller, a mycologist based in California who was visiting Washington on Tuesday, about the effects of magic mushrooms.

He said the effects typically disappear after six hours, even if it’s the person’s first time taking the drug.

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR PILOTS:

We also spoke with John Nance, an aviation analyst with more than 50 years of experience in flying planes, to better understand the background check process for pilots.

Nance, who retired from Alaska Airlines around 2004 after serving the airline as a captain for 20 years, said all airlines are required by the FAA to perform background checks for any criminal records.

However, he said there is no formal process to check on a pilot’s mental health.

He said people who work closely with the pilot on a day-to-day basis will be able to see any abnormal behaviors.

Nance also told us that a pilot can be tested for drugs or alcohol at any time.

“Any time you get off an airplane, after serving as a crew member, you’re subject to either one of those tests or both of them,” said Nance. “Any time you get on, you’re subject to them. And on top of that, gate agents are very well trained to watch for any sign of impairment, whether it’s in a crew member, a captain, a flight attendant, or a passenger.”

ALASKA AIRLINES:

We reached out to Alaska Airlines Tuesday to understand its current background check process and training for pilots.

The airline referred us to the company’s website for their statement.

“Alaska Airlines is committed to sharing as much information as we can while respecting the ongoing federal and state criminal investigations and court proceedings. We have reviewed the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Complaint pertaining to Captain Joseph Emerson and, like many, are deeply disturbed by what we have learned.

On Oct. 22, Emerson approached Horizon Air Gate Agents overseeing the boarding process for Flight 2059. Following well-established, FAA-mandated practices to authorize a jump-seat passenger, our Gate Agent confirmed that Emerson was an off-duty pilot for Alaska Airlines. He was approved to join the flight as a passenger and was seated in the flight deck jump seat. All Gate Agents and Flight Attendants are trained to identify signs and symptoms of impairment.

At no time during the check-in or boarding process did our Gate Agents or flight crew observe any signs of impairment that would have led them to prevent Emerson from flying on Flight 2059.

The details in the DOJ affidavit describing the actions of our flight crew are consistent with our understanding of what occurred based on debriefings with each member of the flight crew. Upon exiting the flight deck, both Flight Attendants confirmed that Emerson was escorted by a Flight Attendant to the rear of the aircraft where Emerson was placed in wrist restraints and belted into the aft jump seat. Our crew also confirmed that Emerson attempted to grab the handle of the emergency exit during the aircraft’s descent before being stopped by a Flight Attendant.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has a mandatory drug testing program for on-duty crew members that is administered by all airlines, including Alaska and Horizon consistent with our zero-tolerance policy for any substance abuse. This can include random testing before or after a flight, as well as reasonable suspicion testing of on-duty Pilots and Flight Attendants.

On Oct. 22, Emerson was removed from service indefinitely and relieved from all duties at Alaska Airlines. Consistent with our pilots’ collective bargaining agreement, we are consulting with our partners in labor regarding his employment status.

We are deeply proud of our Horizon flight crew and their quick actions both in the flight deck and in the rear of the aircraft. Working together, consistent with their training, they performed their critical roles exceptionally well, representing the best of their profession.” - Alaksa Airlines

We also asked a spokesperson for details about Emerson’s most recent flight as a pilot for the airline.

A spokesperson confirmed his last day on duty was on October 19.

©2023 Cox Media Group