Pilot Who Tried to Cut Engines Takes Plea Deal

A former Alaska Airlines pilot who was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after he tried to shut down an aircraft's engines mid-flight has avoided prison time on state charges. Under a plea agreement in Oregon state court, Joseph Emerson pleaded no contest Friday to reckless endangerment and first-degree endangering an aircraft, NBC News reports. He was sentenced to the 50 days he spent in jail after the 2023 incident, five years' probation, and 664 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $60,569 in restitution.

• In federal court, Emerson pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a flight crew. The felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, though prosecutors will only argue for a sentence of up to one year, the AP reports. His lawyers said they plan to ask for probation when he is sentenced Nov. 17. They said federal prosecutors plan to seek a sentence of one year.

• Emerson was off-duty and sitting in the cockpit's jump seat on the Oct. 22, 2023 flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco when he tried to cut off fuel to the engines. Emerson, who was stopped by the pilot and co-pilot, said he was still hallucinating from using psychedelic mushrooms at a memorial for a late friend days earlier and thought he was in a dream. A grand jury declined to indict him on the attempted murder charges.
• "The choices that Joseph Emerson made that day and the policies that allowed them nearly led to our deaths," passenger Alison Snyder said at the hearing in state court, per the New York Times. After the incident, Emerson said he had been struggling with depression and felt he had to struggle with his issues alone because pilots who seek psychiatric help can be grounded.
• "What happened was wrong and should not have happened and I bear the responsibility for that," Emerson said at the hearing. He said the incident forced him to address his mental health issues and his reliance on alcohol. "This difficult journey has made me a better father, a better husband, a better member of my community," he said, per the Times.
• Emerson can perform half his community service at a nonprofit to help pilots with mental health issues that he founded with his wife after his arrest, the AP reports. His lawyer said Emerson had been traveling around the country—but not by plane—to speak about the issue. When a prosecutor read a letter from a passenger suggesting Emerson speak at schools about the danger of psychedelic mushrooms, Emerson said, "I am more than happy to speak to as many schools as possible for the rest of my life."