A former Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while riding off-duty in the cockpit pleaded guilty or no contest to all charges against him Friday, saying in court that he regretted endangering those on board as well as the damage he caused to his former profession.
Joseph Emerson reached the plea agreements because he wants to take responsibility for his actions and hopes to avoid further time behind bars, said his attorney, Noah Horst.
Emerson was subdued by the flight crew after trying to cut the engines of a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on 22 October 2023, while he was riding in an extra seat in the cockpit. The plane was diverted to Portland, where it landed safely with more than 80 people on board.
He was sentenced in state court to 50 days in jail, with credit for time served, plus five years of probation, despite a presumption that the convictions would bring 16 to 18 months in prison. He is due to be sentenced in November in the federal case; his attorneys will recommend probation, while prosecutors will be able to argue for a sentence of up to one year in custody.
Emerson told Cheryl Albrecht, the Multnomah county circuit court judge, that he recognized he had caused harm not only to those on board, but to society at large by reducing confidence in air travel and to the airline professionals who perform excellent work every day.
“It should not have happened, and I bear the responsibility for that,” he said.
Emerson told police he was despondent over a friend’s recent death, had taken psychedelic mushrooms about two days earlier, and hadn’t slept in more than 40 hours. He has said he believed he was dreaming at the time and that he was trying to wake himself up by grabbing two red handles that would have activated the plane’s fire-suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.
The airline has said that other members of the flight crew had not observed signs of impairment that would have barred Emerson from the cockpit.
A passenger on the flight, Alison Snyder, told the court the “consequences proposed today seem insufficient relative to Mr Emerson’s choices and actions, regardless of his explanations or circumstances”.
“Mr Emerson knew he was not fit to fly, a requirement for sitting in the cockpit,” Snyder said. “Joseph Emerson’s behavior that day showed he lacks the judgment to be a pilot and should never be allowed anywhere near a flight deck ever again.”
In court Friday, Emerson reiterated that he had been unable to perceive reality for an extended period after taking the mushrooms, but “that doesn’t make this right”, he said.
Emerson also said he was grateful to the flight crew for restraining him and saving his life, along with those of everyone else on board. He called it “the greatest gift I ever got”, even though he lost his career and wound up in jail, because it made him confront his mental health challenges and reliance on alcohol.
“This difficult journey has made me a better father, a better husband, a better member of my community,” he said. “Today I get to be the dad I was incapable of when I had to use alcohol to deal with life as life is.”
Emerson, of Pleasant Hill, California, was charged in federal court with interfering with a flight crew. A state indictment in Oregon separately charged him with 83 counts of endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft.
He previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and in December 2023 he was released from custody pending trial, with requirements that he undergo mental health services, stay off drugs and alcohol, and keep away from aircraft.
On Friday, Emerson pleaded guilty to the federal count and no contest to the state charges, which carries the same legal effect as a guilty plea.
The conditions of the state agreement include five years of probation, 664 hours of community service – eight hours for each person he endangered – and $60,569 in restitution, nearly all of it to Alaska Air Group, Horst said.
Half of his community service can be performed at a pilot health non-profit Emerson founded after his arrest. He must also undergo assessments for drug and alcohol and mental health treatment, refrain from using any non-prescribed drugs, and keep at least 25ft (7.6 meters) away from operable aircraft unless he has permission from his probation officer.
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