Off-duty pilot Joseph Emerson pleaded guilty after trying to cut Alaska Air jet...

Off-duty pilot Joseph Emerson recently pleaded guilty to a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew and no contest to state charges after attempting to shut down the engines of an Alaska Airlines regional jet mid-flight in October 2023. The incident occurred on a flight with 83 other passengers and crew onboard, which was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. New flight deck audio and police video, obtained by CBS News, reveal the critical moments when Emerson, occupying the cockpit jumpseat, pulled fuel cutoff handles in an attempt to disable the aircraft's engines.

During the struggle, the operating pilot was heard telling air traffic control, "We've got a jump seater just tried to shut our engines off. We need to go direct to Portland, now." Emerson was subsequently removed from the cockpit, and the aircraft landed safely. Following his arrest, Emerson told CBS News he had no intention of crashing the plane, stating he was in a "dream" or "dissociative state" and believed pulling the handles would "wake me up" from what he perceived as an unreality.

Emerson's legal proceedings concluded with a sentence of time served (46 days in jail) and three years of supervised release for the federal charge. For the state charges of endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of endangering another person, he received five years of probation and time served. Emerson attributed his actions to grieving the death of a best friend, leading him to try psilocybin mushrooms two days before the flight. His attorneys suggested he suffered from hallucinogen persisting perception disorder, causing the psychedelic effects to linger longer than typical.