Back in 2023, an off-duty Alaska Airlines captain was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after trying to shut down a plane’s engines midflight.
Ahead of his sentencing next week, more details have come to light in court documents.
Joseph Emerson was traveling in the cockpit jump seat as a passenger on board Alaska Airlines Flight 2059. About 48 hours earlier, he had taken magic mushrooms during a remembrance gathering for his best friend — a fellow airline pilot who had suddenly died from a heart problem.
Emerson’s lawyers said he had an unusual reaction to psilocybin, the active ingredient in the drug. He was left feeling detached from reality for several days, a condition known as Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder.
Emerson “believed he was either trapped in a dream or already dead,” his lawyers wrote in a sentencing memo filed Wednesday.
They add that he didn’t believe Flight 2059 was real, but he boarded because he believed it would help him wake up and see his family again.
“On the flight home, he became increasingly suspicious that the airplane would never make it home, and that he would endlessly fly, never reaching his destination,” the document says.
After trying to shut down the engines, the pilots intervened, and Emerson left the cockpit.
Again, he became convinced he was in a dream because he was surprised by how calm the passengers seemed.
Emerson then put his hand in a pot of hot coffee to try to wake up.
Ultimately, he told the flight attendants he couldn’t distinguish what was real and asked them to cuff him.
After the flight diverted, Emerson was arrested.
In jail, he began journaling, where he realized he had been an alcoholic for years, his lawyers said.
He had also avoided mental health treatment as he was struggling to come to terms with his friend’s death.
Emerson has since started a nonprofit with his wife called Clear Skies Ahead, aimed at creating awareness of this problem within aviation. Many pilots may try to avoid treatment for mental health, as doing so can lead to them losing their license to fly.
Emerson initially faced up to 20 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in September, and the government has requested a 12-month prison sentence. A pre-sentence report also suggested six months of home detention.
Emerson is asking for credit for time served and probation instead. He is set to appear in an Oregon court for sentencing next Monday.
