According to court documents, the off-duty pilot who attempted to disable a plane’s engines mid flight, had taken psychedelic mushrooms.
As previously reported by multiple outlets, an Alaska Airlines flight was rerouted to Portland on Sunday night due to a “credible security threat” linked to an authorized individual in the cockpit.
The airline specified that the authorized person was in the flight deck jump seat.
Alaska Airlines stated, “On Oct. 22, Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 operated by Horizon Air from Everett, WA (PAE) to San Francisco, CA (SFO) reported a credible security threat related to an authorized occupant in the flight deck jump seat. The crew secured the aircraft without incident.”
The individual responsible for the security breach was revealed to be off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, Joseph David Emmerson.
In response, the two pilots in the cockpit immediately sprang into action, subduing Emmerson the threat and ejecting him from the cockpit.
Following this incident, 44-year-old Emerson was arrested and subsequently charged with attempted murder for his attempt to disable the aircraft’s engines during the flight.
“The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines,” Alaska Airlines said. “The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.”
Watch:
An off-duty pilot has been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off the engines mid-flight while sitting in the cockpit jump seat during an Alaska Airlines flight to San Francisco. @GioBenitez has details. https://t.co/A0epUbwKLr pic.twitter.com/LCaQb7oJut
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) October 24, 2023
As indicated in court documents, Emerson told law enforcement officers that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms and not slept for 40 hours.
Excerpt from KATU:
The off-duty pilot facing 83 attempted murder charges after he allegedly tried to shut off the engines of a plane mid-flight on Sunday night admitted to taking psychedelic mushrooms, new arrest documents claim.
In the official criminal complaint, Emerson is stated to have been sitting in the cockpit’s jumpseat when, after chatting with pilots for several minutes, suddenly said “I’m not okay,” before pulling the handles of the fire suppression system, which are used to stop engine fires and shut off fuel to the engines.
One of the pilots grabbed Emerson while the other declared an inflight emergency. He initially resisted, but records say he settled down after a roughly 30-second struggle.
The court documents state Emerson wasn’t able to fully pull down the handles and fully shut off the engines. If he had, “then it would have shut down the hydraulics and the fuel to the engines, turning the aircraft into a glider within seconds.”
Witnesses said Emerson peacefully walked to the back of the plane, and once seated in the back he reportedly told a flight attendant “you need to cuff me right now or it’s going to be bad.” They put his wrists in a pair of flex cuffs.
During a police interview, Emerson said he was having “a nervous breakdown,” and hadn’t slept for 40 hours, and felt dehydrated and tired. He admitted to pulling the handles and said he did it because “I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.”
It appears that Emmerson was a Trump-hater who harshly criticized January 6 protestors, calling for them to be “crushed.”
Although there is no indication that Emmerson’s Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) played any role in his attempt to stop the plane’s engines mid-flight, it does absolutely indicate that he is unstable and it also preemptively debunks likely attempts by the left and the mainstream media to label him a “MAGA extremist.”
Joseph David Emerson, the suspect accused of trying to shut down the engines of a commercial Alaska Airlines flight mid-air, had strong views on Jan. 6. He tweeted critically to former President Trump and liked a post calling for the Jan. 6 people to be “crushed.” pic.twitter.com/NJcgLx04wS
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) October 23, 2023
