Off-Duty Pilot Who Tried To Turn Off Plane Engines Mid-Flight Indicted On 84 Charges

An off-duty airline pilot accused of trying to shut off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737’s engines mid-flight has been indicted on 84 charges. However, none of them are attempted murder, according to The New York Post. It looks like the grand jury just couldn’t commit.

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Joseph David Emerson was charged with one count of endangering an aircraft in the first degree and 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person in connection with the October 22 incident. The 44-year-old is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland, Oregon and is scheduled to be arraigned on December 7.

Emerson was first charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off the airliner’s engines by pulling the fire extinguisher handles while he was riding in the cockpit jump seat as a standby employee. This all happened in the air during a trip from Everett, Washington to San Francisco, California, according to The Post. In October, he pleaded not guilty. An on-duty pilot and the first officer were able to stop Emerson before he could reach the controls, and the flight crew restrained him until they could land safely in Portland, Oregon.

So, how did we get here? Well, the shrooms in his system probably didn’t help. ABC News explains:

His attorneys previously said he “suffered a panic attack” while on the flight and was in a dream-like state during the incident. They also said he had taken “a small amount of psilocybin,” which is found in mushrooms, two days prior to the flight.

In a statement on the grand jury indictment, his attorneys said the attempted murder charges “were never appropriate in this case because Captain Emerson never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk — he just wanted to return home to his wife and children.”

“Simply put: Captain Emerson thought he was in a dream; his actions were taken in a single-minded effort to wake up from that dream and return home to his family,” the statement continued.

[…]

“Captain Emerson had no criminal intent, and we look forward to being able to present a fulsome defense at trial and bring forth all the facts and circumstances to a jury,” his attorneys said. “Captain Emerson’s defense team is crafting a release plan and expect that he will finally return home to his family by the end of this week.”

[…]

Emerson had engaged with the pilots in “casual conversation” before allegedly trying to grab and pull two red fire handles, according to a criminal complaint filed in October. That would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines, according to the complaint.

Emerson allegedly said “I’m not OK” and reached up to grab the handles but was unable to pull them down all the way and fully activate the engine shutoff because of the pilots “wrestling with Emerson,” the complaint said.

Once Emerson finally came down from the trip — five goddamn days after taking the mushrooms — he said he was “horrified” about his actions, The Post said.

From the time Emerson told the crew “I’m not OK” to when he exited the cockpit was about 90 seconds, ABC News says. He was later taken into custody in Portland, allegedly telling officers he believed he was having a “nervous breakdown.” We’ve all been there, buddy, but most of the time we don’t try to down an airliner.