Ex-Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson was sentenced Monday to time served for trying to shut off a plane’s engine midflight.
Emerson, now 46, made international headlines in 2023 for wrestling with pilots to pull levers that could have caused the plane, holding 83 passengers, to crash or at least make an emergency landing. He later claimed that he was experiencing a possibly psychedelic mushroom-induced mental health crisis.
Emerson, appearing in U.S. District Court in Portland, did not receive a prison term but was sentenced to three years of court supervision.
In September, the California man pleaded guilty to a single federal charge, and no contest to dozens of state charges as part of plea agreements with state and federal prosecutors.
Emerson, who has campaigned for reducing pilots’ barriers to mental health treatment since his arrest, has expressed remorse for his actions and a desire to take responsibility for them.
On Oct. 22, 2023, Emerson, then employed as a pilot for Alaska Airlines but off duty, hitched a ride home in the cockpit jump seat on Horizon Air Flight 2059 headed from Everett to San Francisco, according to an affidavit by an FBI agent.
Emerson made casual conversation with pilots before he threw his headset across the cockpit, said “I’m not OK,” and pulled red engine shut-off handles used for fires, according to the affidavit. The pilots managed to regain control of the handles, which would have cut fuel to each of the plane’s engines had Emerson been able to pull them down fully.
Emerson told a flight attendant to handcuff him and tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit door during an emergency descent to Portland, according to the affidavit.
Arrested after landing at Portland International Airport, Emerson told police officers he was experiencing a mental health crisis and hadn’t slept in two days, according to the affidavit. He had taken psychedelic mushrooms for the first time two days prior.
“I’m admitting to what I did. I’m not fighting any charges you want to bring against me, guys,” he told police, according to the affidavit.
The story quickly made international headlines.
Emerson later told media outlets that he felt like he was in a dream and thought pulling the handles would wake him up. He was struggling with the death of his best friend, he said, and was afraid to seek treatment for mental health issues for fear of losing his job.
While out of custody, Emerson and his wife started a nonprofit called Clear Skies Ahead, which advocates for reduced barriers for pilots seeking mental health treatment.
Earlier this fall, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge commended him for his advocacy work before sentencing him to five years’ probation and 664 hours of community service — a sentence some passengers criticized as too light.
As part of that state sentencing, Emerson was also ordered to pay more than $60,000 in restitution, mostly to Alaska Airlines.
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