'I’m not okay': Pilots allege terrifying struggle in SF flight cockpit

On Sunday, an SFO-bound flight was diverted to Portland, Ore., after an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot allegedly wrestled with two other pilots in the cockpit and attempted to shut off the plane’s engines, endangering the lives of all 80 passengers onboard. 

A criminal complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Oregon claims that the off-duty pilot – Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill – said that he hadn’t slept in 40 hours and was experiencing a “nervous breakdown.” The complaint also states that after the incident, Emerson discussed taking psychedelic mushrooms for the first time, possibly leading to the chaos that ensued that evening. 

The complaint accused Emerson of attempting to shut down Horizon Air flight 2059’s engines mid-flight between Astoria, Ore., and Portland while en route to San Francisco. After casually speaking with the two pilots, Emerson – who was in the jump seat, a third seat in the cockpit – allegedly said “I’m not okay” before trying to pull the two red fire handles, which would have activated the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel to the engines. 

Both pilots told investigators they wrestled with Emerson, preventing him from shutting off the fuel mid-flight. During the scuffle, they told flight attendants that Emerson was “losing it” and needed to be kicked out of the cockpit, the document claims. As he calmly walked to the back of the airplane, he allegedly told a flight attendant, “You need to cuff me right now or it’s going to be bad.” The whole ordeal in the cockpit lasted around 90 seconds, pilots said.

“It was really bizarre because there was no overheard commotion to alert the passengers. The man walked from the cockpit to the back of the plane by himself, where he was then handcuffed to a railing and didn’t make any disturbance from the rear,” Bailey Beck, a passenger on the flight, told SFGATE Monday. “The flight attendants said a passenger had a mental breakdown, so it was like he tried to shut off the engines and then surrendered willingly after being thwarted.”

The complaint says that Emerson was restrained in the back of the plane, but as it descended, he allegedly tried to open the emergency doors. A flight attendant allegedly had to physically prevent him from opening it and tried to distract him. According to the document, another attendant heard him say, “I messed everything up” and that “he tried to kill everybody.”

Once the plane landed in Portland, Emerson allegedly told police officers that he hadn’t slept in 40 hours and believed he was experiencing a nervous breakdown. The complaint says he also spoke to them about using psychedelic mushrooms for the first time, along with his recent struggles with depression. “I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up,” he allegedly told officers.

A United States Attorney’s Office press representative told SFGATE that it’s investigating whether Emerson was still on psychedelic mushrooms during the incident. 

Authorities arrested Emerson and are holding him in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center. Booking records show he’s been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder and another 83 counts reckless endangerment. 

“On Oct. 22, Emerson was removed from service indefinitely and relieved from all duties at Alaska Airlines,” the company wrote in a public statement on Tuesday. “We are deeply proud of our Horizon flight crew and their quick actions both in the flight deck and in the rear of the aircraft.”

SFGATE travel reporter Olivia Harden contributed to this report.