Off-Duty Pilot Sentenced After Attempt to Shut Down Jet Engines Mid-Flight

The BareStory

In October 2023, an off-duty pilot, Joseph Emerson, attempted to disable the engines of an Alaska Airlines regional jet while it was in flight with 83 other people on board. Emerson, who was seated in the cockpit jumpseat, pulled two handles designed to cut fuel flow to the engines. The flight crew successfully prevented the shutdown, and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, where police took Emerson into custody.

As part of an official probe, flight deck audio from the incident has been released. In the recording, Emerson can be heard telling the pilot, "I'm not OK," which was followed by what was described as a struggle. The pilot then informed air traffic control that an individual in the jumpseat had tried to shut down the engines.

According to Emerson's statements, he was experiencing a "dissociative state" and believed he was in a dream, pulling the handles in an effort to "wake up." He said he had no intention of crashing the plane and stated he had consumed psilocybin mushrooms for the first time two days before the flight while grieving the death of his best friend. His attorneys claimed he suffered from hallucinogen persisting perception disorder.

Emerson faced both federal and state charges. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release. For state charges, which included endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of endangering another person, he pleaded no contest and received a sentence of five years of probation and time served.