Under the influence of hallucinogens Joseph Emerson tried to turn off the plane engines in flight. Condemned, he founded a non-profit for the health of the pilots
A confession that could change the rules on the shifts and the checks on the health of the pilots that made by Joseph David Emerson, 46 years old, a former pilot accused of having attempted to turn off the engines of a line airplane while this was in flight, in fact declaring himself guilty of the accusations against him in a federal court.
On 22 October 2023, after take -off by Everett, Washington, with a route to San Francisco, California, an unexpected event had forced the flight to be diverted to Portland, in Oregon. Emerson was out of service that day but sitting on the strain in the piloting cabin of a flight of Alaska Airlines, when he told the drivers not to feel good and tried to turn off the engines, as reported by the documents available to the court.
The man also declared the police not to sleep for more than 40 hours, that he has taken on hallucinogenic mushrooms and having suffered from depression, accepting the plea bargaining that could be a year of detention, while his lawyers should ask that no additional prison sentence be imposed on him.
The effects on his psyche were due to psilocybine, a psychoactive substance present in the mushrooms he had eaten in Washington in the company of some friends with whom he was commemorating his best friend, also pilot, who disappeared shortly before, an event that had sent him into depression. Psilocibina has a 4-6-hour effect which occurs after 30-90 minutes from the intake and persists for about 12 hours.
The condemnation and words in the classroom
During the trial that took place in a court of Oregon, the former commander Emerson declared himself guilty of having endangered the entire flight, made for which he was sentenced to fifty days in prison he has already taken for granted, five years of supervised freedom, 664 hours of social services – eight hours for each person endangered – as well as 60,659 dollars of compensation, as the CBS news issuer reported.
Eric Pickard, District Deputy Prosecutor of Multnomah County, in Oregon, said:
“What Joseph Emerson has done was reckless, a selfish and criminal act. We should remember how close to ruining life not only of the 84 people aboard the Alaska 2059 flight, but also of all their family and friends”.
Among the upset phrases of the accused, the admission that after taking hallucinogen was no longer able to perceive reality, adding:
“This difficult path made me a better father and husband, a better member of my community. Today I will be able to be the father that I was unable to be when I had to resort to alcohol to face life as it is”.
The dynamics in the pilot cabin
During the criminal trial, one of the pilots on duty that day said he had to fight with Emerson until he stopped resistance and was released from the piloting and immobilized cabin. The entire accident had lasted about a minute and a half.
Once calmed, Emerson declared to the flight attendants: “You have to hatt me immediately or it will be a bad experience”, later trying to reach the emergency exit handle during the descent of the plane, probably with the intention of operating it.
A few minutes later, addressing a flight attendant who supervised him, he said: “I ruined everything, I tried to kill everyone”.
The conditions of supervised freedom
Now the man will be able to carry out half of his hours of civil service at the Clear Skies Ahead, a non-profit organization for the health of the drivers that he founded with his wife after his arrest. Finally, it will have to be evaluated for drug abuse and alcohol, refraining from the use of unseen prescribed drugs and remaining at a distance from the aircraft without the permission of its surveillance agent.
Certainly this event will contribute to changing the rules on controls to ascertain the psychophysical attitude of the crews, whose frequencies and methods could soon be implemented.
