Ex-pilot accused of trying to cut a passenger flight’s engines reaches plea deals, his lawyer says

Joseph David Emerson, back, appears in Multnomah County Circuit Court for an indictment hearing in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 7, 2023. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP, Pool, File)

PORTLAND, Ore. — 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 is due to enter guilty and no-contest pleas in federal and state courts on Friday as part of agreements with prosecutors.

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, Wash., to San Francisco on Oct. 22, 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.

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 over 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.

Emerson, of Pleasant Hill, Calif., 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 was expected to plead guilty to the federal count and no-contest to the state charges, which carries the same legal effect as a guilty plea.

Under the federal agreement, prosecutors can recommend that Emerson serve up to a year in prison, while his attorneys will ask that he serve no additional time. The conditions of the state agreement include five years of probation, 664 hours of community service — eight hours for each person he endangered — and US$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 nonprofit 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 25 feet (7.6 metres) away from operable aircraft unless he has permission from his probation officer.

The averted disaster renewed attention on cockpit safety and the mental fitness of those allowed in them.

Johnson reported from Seattle.

Claire Rush And Gene Johnson, The Associated Press