A former Alaska Airlines pilot, who tried to shut down the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while off duty in the cockpit after consuming psychedelic mushrooms, has been spared prison time. A judge released him on Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio ruled that Joseph Emerson would receive credit for time already served and be placed under supervised release for three years during a session in Portland, Oregon. Emerson had admitted guilt to the charges in September, reaching an agreement with state and federal prosecutors. Despite federal prosecutors recommending a one-year prison term, the judge opted for a different approach.
“Pilots are not immune to mistakes. They are human beings,” the judge remarked. “Everyone requires assistance at times.”
Joseph David Emerson attended an indictment hearing at the Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, Oregon, on December 7, 2023. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)
Prior to receiving his sentence, Emerson expressed remorse for his behavior.
“I am not a victim. I stand here because of my own actions,” he stated before the court. “This unfortunate incident has been a catalyst for personal growth.”
Emerson was a passenger on the Oct. 22, 2023 Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco when he was subdued by the flight crew.
He was sitting in an extra seat in the cockpit at the time aboard Flight 2059, which was carrying 84 people. The plane was eventually diverted to Portland, where it landed safely with more than 80 people on board.
At the time, Emerson, a California resident, told authorities that he was grieving a friend’s death and had taken psychedelic mushrooms around two days earlier. In addition, he said he had gone more than 40 hours without sleep.
Joseph David Emerson, 44, is arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tues., Oct. 24, 2023. Emerson, a pilot, is accused of attempting to disable the engines of a plane on which he was riding while off-duty last Sunday. (Dave Killen/Pool)
Believing he was dreaming, he said he pulled the two red handles that would have activated the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.
“It was only through the heroic actions of the flight crew, who were able to physically restrain the defendant and restore normal operations of the aircraft, that no lives were lost that day,” federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.
Emerson was federally charged with interfering with a flight crew. In Oregon, he was charged with 83 counts of endangering another person and one of endangering an aircraft.
Alaska Airlines confirmed the incident took place on one of its flights in Seattle, Washington. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
In state court, he received a 50-day jail sentence with credit for time served and five years’ probation. He was also sentenced to five years of probation, 664 hours of community service – eight hours for each person he endangered – and ordered to pay over $60,000 in restitution, nearly all of it to Alaska Air Group.
