Off-duty pilot who tried to cut the engines on a jet midflight pleads not guilty to attempted murder charges

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) – An Alaska Airlines pilot who attempted to shut down the engines of a passenger plane has pleaded not guilty several federal charges.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office - District of Oregon announced Tuesday that off-duty pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill, California, was charged in federal court with interference with flight crew members and attendants.

Authorities said Emerson was taken into custody following a disturbance on a Horizon Airlines flight heading to San Francisco from Everett. The flight was diverted and landed in Portland around 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

Emerson was reportedly riding in the cockpit’s jump seat when he attempted to “disrupt the operation of the engines,” according to Alaska Airlines.

Pilots occasionally ride in a cockpit “jump seat” when traveling in an official capacity or commuting to another airport.

According to the district attorney’s office, between Astoria and Portland, Emerson attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.

A brief struggle followed, which saw Emerson leave the cockpit. Flight attendants were then able to get control of Emerson and restrain him in a seat in the back of the aircraft.

Court documents say while Emerson was walking to the back of the plane, he said to a flight attendant, “You need to cuff me right now or it’s going to be bad.”

According to the district attorney’s office, during the flight’s descent, a restrained Emerson tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit but was stopped by a flight attendant.

According to court documents released, Emerson told investigators he was on psychedelic mushrooms and it was his first time.

“I didn’t feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren’t paying attention to what was going on. They didn’t… it didn’t seem right,” Emerson told authorities according to court documents. ”Yah…I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.”

After landing, Emerson was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on 83 counts of attempted murder and endangering an airplane after threats made Sunday.

He remains in custody in Multnomah County on a federal hold pending his first appearance in federal court on a later date, officials stated.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office told KPTV that Emerson was placed on suicide watch while in custody.

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