A pilot accused of trying to disable the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet mid-flight later told police he was suffering a nervous breakdown and had taken psychedelic mushrooms two days before the incident, court documents show.
State prosecutors in Oregon filed 83 counts of attempted murder against Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, just before he was due to appear in court for an arraignment on Tuesday. He denied the charges.
Federal prosecutors charged him with interfering with a Horizon Air flight crew, after he allegedly tried to turn off a plane's engines while flying in the cockpit off-duty on Sunday.
After his arrest, Emerson told a police officer that he had previously taken pyschadelic mushrooms for the first time and had been depressed for the past six months, according to an FBI affidavit accompanying the federal complaint.
He also told police he believed he was having a nervous breakdown, the a friend had recently died, and he had not slept for 40 hours, the affidavit said.
State court documents say Emerson had taken the 'magic mushrooms' about 48 hours before the incident.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit in support of the federal charge that Emerson "said it was his first-time taking mushrooms".
Medical research has shown psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogen found in certain mushroom varieties known as 'magic mushrooms', to be beneficial as a treatment for anxiety, depression and other mental disorders.
A ballot measure approved by voters in 2020 made Oregon the first US state to decriminalise psilocybin and to legalize its supervised therapeutic use for adults at least 21 years old.
Several cities around the country have adopted similar measures. The use, sale and possession of psilocybin remains prohibited under federal law.
A flight attendant cited in the federal affidavit was quoted as telling authorities she overheard Emerson say, after he was subdued aboard the plane: "I messed everything up," and that he had stated that he had "tried to kill everybody".
Alaska Airlines said in a statement on Tuesday that at no time during the check-in or boarding process did employees observe any signs of impairment that would have led them to prevent Emerson from flying.
Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 was operated by Alaska Air Group's regional subsidiary Horizon Air, the carrier said.
After the alleged attempt to disable the engines, Emerson - in wrist restraints - tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit during the flight's descent but was stopped by a flight attendant, prosecutors said. He had told crew: "You need to cuff me right now or it's going to be bad."
Emerson was riding as a validated "jump seat" passenger in the cockpit of the plane - a routine mode of transport for commercial airline pilots hitching flights back home or to their next assignment, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
According to the federal criminal complaint affidavit, the off-duty pilot had sought to disable the engines of the Embraer 175 by attempting to activate the engines' fire-suppression system while the plane was at cruise altitude.
The flight's pilot and co-pilot told authorities Emerson had been chatting with them casually early in the flight, then suddenly pulled off his headset, said, 'I'm not OK," and grabbed the red-coloured fire-suppression handles, the affidavit said.
A scuffle ensued as one of the two pilots quickly clutched Emerson's wrist to keep him from fully engaging the fire suppression handles, while the other declared an in-flight emergency, and Emerson then quieted down and left the cockpit.
"I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up," Emerson was quoted as telling police following his arrest.
Emerson, a resident of Pleasant Hill, California, joined Alaska Air Group as a Horizon first officer in August 2001 and later a pilot, Alaska Airlines said, adding that "at no point were his certifications denied, suspended or revoked." Aviators are expected to self-report any mental health conditions.
Adam Silverthorne, president of California-based NRI Flying Club, said the incident was incongruous with the kindhearted, methodical family man he knew Emerson to be several years ago when Emerson was a club member and provided flight instruction. A club newsletter mentioned that Emerson was at NRI in 2016.
