Off-duty pilot who tried to stop flight took 'magic' mushrooms

LOS ANGELES — The off-duty United States pilot who tried to shut down the engines of a plane midflight over the weekend had taken magic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, court documents showed on Tuesday.

Pilots wrestled Joseph Emerson out of the cockpit on Sunday after he lunged for handles that would have starved the engines of fuel and turned the plane into a glider.

Emerson, who told police he had not slept in 40 hours, also tried to open an emergency exit in the rear of the aircraft and had to be restrained by the cabin crew during an emergency landing.

"I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just want to wake up," Emerson told police, according to a criminal complaint.

Emerson and the investigating officer "talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms, and Emerson said it was his first time taking mushrooms".

The 44-year-old was arrested on Sunday evening after the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

Emerson had boarded the flight between Everett, Washington, and San Francisco, sitting in the jump seat of the cockpit, in line with airline policy for nonworking staff.

A short way into the journey, after chatting with the pilots, "Emerson attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane's emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines", the US Department of Justice said.

"After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit."

Quick reaction

Alaska Airlines said on Monday that pilots had reacted quickly to reverse the handles, and the aircraft had landed safely.

Emerson was charged in Oregon state court on Tuesday with 83 counts of attempted murder — one for every person aboard the plane besides himself — and a single count of endangering an aircraft.

He pleaded not guilty to those charges during a brief court appearance in Portland on Tuesday and was ordered to remain in custody pending a detention hearing to be held within the next five days.

Emerson was charged separately in federal court with one count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

The airline said on Tuesday that Emerson had been "removed from service indefinitely and relieved from all duties".

Agencies Via Xinhua