OR - Alaska Airlines flight diverted after off-duty pilot tries "to shut the engines down" in cockpit, audio reveals

[steeltowngirl]

Curious about an update regarding today's arraignment. West coast time is about 11:00 am PT right now.

Now showing as 12/7.

• 12/07/2023 Arraignment - Indictment
  Judicial Officer
  Ryan, Thomas M
  Hearing Time
  9:30 AM
  Comment
  60-Day Wvr: Limited to 3/6/24 Preventive Detention: Limited to 11/28/23 // STIP S/O FROM 11.1.2023

 

[arielilane]

And in other news... AA to buy Hawaiian Airlines...

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/03/1216870386/alaska-airlines-to-buy-hawaiian-airlines

DECEMBER 3, 20236:28 PM ET

 

[arielilane]

Dec 5 (Reuters) - An off-duty Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) pilot accused of trying to disable a jet's engines during an October flight was indicted by a grand jury, a district attorney said on Tuesday.

The Multnomah County, Oregon grand jury charged Joseph Emerson with one count of endangering an aircraft and 83 other counts of recklessly endangering another person but decided on Monday that Joseph Emerson did not attempt to injure anyone, and therefore declined to charge him with the 83 counts of attempted murder originally sought by the state, the pilot's lawyer said in a statement.

...

Lawyers for Emerson say he never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk - "he just wanted to return home to his wife and children." The lawyers added they are "crafting a release plan and expect that he will finally return home to his family by the end of this week."

Emerson has also been charged in U.S. District Court in connection with the incident and a hearing on his detention is set for Wednesday.

...

Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot indicted in connection with October flight

An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to disable a jet's engines during an October flight was indicted by a grand jury, a district attorney said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com

December 5, 20235:42 PM ESTUpdated an hour ago

 

[Seattle1]

Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot indicted for trying to shut off engines mid-flight, avoids attempted murder counts

An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut down engines mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane in October was indicted by a grand jury on 84 charges, prosecutors said.

abcnews.go.com

12/5/23

An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut down engines mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane in October was indicted on 84 charges -- though the grand jury declined to go for attempted murder.

Joseph David Emerson, 44, was charged with one count of endangering aircraft in the first degree and 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person in connection with the Oct. 22 incident, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

He is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland, Oregon, and is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.

[..]

His attorneys said they were "disappointed" that the grand jury indicted Emerson on the 84 counts.

"Captain Emerson had no criminal intent, and we look forward to being able to present a fulsome defense at trial and bring forth all the facts and circumstances to a jury," his attorneys said. "Captain Emerson’s defense team is crafting a release plan and expect that he will finally return home to his family by the end of this week."

 

[Seattle1]

Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot indicted on lesser charges after trying to cut engines on Everett flight

Pilot Joseph Emerson was previously indicted in federal court after he allegedly tried to stop the engines on an Alaska Airlines flight to San Francisco.

www.king5.com

12/5/23

Updated: 7:27 PM PST December 5, 2023


PORTLAND, Oregon — An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to cut the engines of a plane that left Everett's Paine Field in October has been indicted in Multnomah County court in Oregon, prosecutors announced Tuesday afternoon.

Joseph Emerson, 44, was previously charged in federal court.
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney's office, a grand jury indicted Emerson on 84 counts for the Oct. 22 incident aboard Horizon Air Flight 2059, which was diverted to the Portland International Airport after the disturbance.

Emerson faces 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of first-degree endangering aircraft. He remains jailed at the Multnomah County Detention Center and is set to be arraigned in the Oregon case on Dec. 7.

The charges are considerably less severe than those upon which Emerson was originally arraigned. On the initial charging documents, Emerson faced 83 counts of second-degree attempted murder — one for each passenger and crew member on the plane — in addition to the first-degree endangering aircraft charge.

While he still faces just as many counts, attempted murder is a Measure 11 crime in Oregon and comes with a minimum sentence of 7 years and 6 months in prison.

"The attempted murder charges were never appropriate in this case because Captain Emerson never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk — he just wanted to return home to his wife and children," Emerson's defense attorneys at Levi Merrithew Horst said in a statement on Tuesday. "Simply put: Captain Emerson thought he was in a dream; his actions were taken in a single-minded effort to wake up from that dream and return home to his family."

 

[arielilane]

For anyone interested, JE arraignment is scheduled on Dec. 7 at 9:30 am PT.

 

[Niner]

For anyone interested, JE arraignment is scheduled on Dec. 7 at 9:30 am PT.

I decided not to keep notes for this case. Just following along.

 

[gitana1]

Never mess with hallucinogens? You realize the benefits of mushrooms far outweigh the risks. It has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Today, it is being used for all kinds of psychiatric conditions. And ketamine is not an alternative medicine. It is used by doctors and hospitals throughout the US. It was administered to me for pain earlier this year in the hospital.

But a pilot should never enter the cockpit, while under the influence of anything, or impaired in any way. Blame the pilot not the mushroom.
imo

Yes. The benefits of these medications is just beginning to be understood by modern medicine.

 

[gitana1]

I don't think it's disingenuous. Self-medication is a known consequence of mental health stigmatization and industries that make mental health treatment punitive. From that, we get substance abuse in these professions.

But what’s the alternative? Can you imagine the liability if airlines allow someone with diagnosed mental health issues to pilot a plane and something happens? I don’t know what the solution is but getting treatment for mental health issues doesn’t guarantee mental stability.

The pilot who intentionally crashed the Germanwings Flight in 2015, killing 149 people, had been treated for suicidal ideation and declared unfit to work. But he hid that info.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

But what’s the alternative? Can you imagine the liability if airlines allow someone with diagnosed mental health issues to pilot a plane and something happens? I don’t know what the solution is but getting treatment for mental health issues doesn’t guarantee mental stability.

The pilot who intentionally crashed the Germanwings Flight in 2015, killing 149 people, had been treated for suicidal ideation and declared unfit to work. But he hid that info.

The alternative is policies that make sense. If the goal is safety and not just saving their own *advertiser censored*, then the airline industry, like many others, would encourage mental health treatment. Instead, encouraging people to hide it by making treatment of it punitive, puts the rest of us in more danger, not less.

Depression doesn't make someone dangerous and neither does anxiety. Yes, there will be pilots who have mental illness, just as there will be drivers on the highway who have mental illness. Or bus drivers or Uber drivers or doctors or paramedics or lifeguards or police officers or teachers or chefs. Every day, we encounter people whose mental illness could affect us in one way or another. The fact that some are not getting treatment for it is what should scare the crap out of us, IMO.

These policies are for one purpose only -- avoidance of liability and bad press by these industries and companies. And that's fine. They're a business. But I think they should be honest about it. They put us in MORE danger with their current policies. JMO

 

[steeltowngirl]

The alternative is policies that make sense. If the goal is safety and not just saving their own *advertiser censored*, then the airline industry, like many others, would encourage mental health treatment. Instead, encouraging people to hide it by making treatment of it punitive, puts the rest of us in more danger, not less.

Depression doesn't make someone dangerous and neither does anxiety. Yes, there will be pilots who have mental illness, just as there will be drivers on the highway who have mental illness. Or bus drivers or Uber drivers or doctors or paramedics or lifeguards or police officers or teachers or chefs. Every day, we encounter people whose mental illness could affect us in one way or another. The fact that some are not getting treatment for it is what should scare the crap out of us, IMO.

These policies are for one purpose only -- avoidance of liability and bad press by these industries and companies. And that's fine. They're a business. But I think they should be honest about it. They put us in MORE danger with their current policies. JMO

I am curious how you are defining ‘dangerous’. Depression and anxiety can trigger suicidal thoughts or actions. Possibly homicide (think of murder-suicide.)

A pilot having panic attacks has no business being in a cockpit. I don’t want my family flying to visit me with a panicked pilot at the controls.

I agree they should get help, but that help should include a pilot being grounded until they are better.

jmo

 

[azure]

I am curious how you are defining ‘dangerous’. Depression and anxiety can trigger suicidal thoughts or actions. Possibly homicide (think of murder-suicide.)

A pilot having panic attacks has no business being in a cockpit. I don’t want my family flying to visit me with a panicked pilot at the controls.

I agree they should get help, but that help should include a pilot being grounded until they are better.

jmo

I think it's important to remember that 99.9+% of suicidal people are not homicidal.

 

[steeltowngirl]

I think it's important to remember that 99.9+% of suicidal people are not homicidal.

As noted upthread, a Germanwings pilot took 150 souls with him when he purposely crashed a plane.

Would you want to be a passenger on a plane with someone in the .1%, who also happens to be your pilot?

I wouldn’t.

 

[arielilane]

PORTLAND2 HOURS AGO

Pilot involved in Horizon jet midflight incident faces state charges in Oregon​

A former Alaska Airlines pilot from the Bay Area facing multiple endangerment charges has been released from federal custody but wasn’t yet free to return home.

Pilot involved in Horizon jet midflight incident faces state charges in Oregon

A former Alaska Airlines pilot from the Bay Area facing multiple endangerment charges has been released from federal custody but wasn’t yet free to return home. Kris Sanchez reports.

www.nbcbayarea.com

 

[Really?]

Yes. The benefits of these medications is just beginning to be understood by modern medicine.

Some streamers I watch were talking how outrageous it is for the pilot to say mushrooms ingested 48 hrs prior had anything to do with his actions. I trust them.

 

[arielilane]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An ex-Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight while off-duty and riding in an extra seat in the cockpit can be released from jail pending trial, an Oregon judge said Thursday.

Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Ryan made the decision as Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty to reduced charges of reckless endangerment; he previously faced attempted murder charges.

Judge says ex-Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut plane’s engines can be released before trial

An Oregon judge says an ex-Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight can be released from jail pending trial. Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty to reduced charges of reckless endangerment at his arraignment Thursday. He previously faced attempted murder...

kstp.com

December 7, 2023 - 1:21 PM


The release conditions agreed to by defense attorneys and prosecutors in the state case include that Emerson post a $50,000 bond, undergo mental health services, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and not come within 30 feet (9 meters) of an operable aircraft.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Some streamers I watch were talking how outrageous it is for the pilot to say mushrooms ingested 48 hrs prior had anything to do with his actions. I trust them.

I agree. Anytime I have taken mushrooms, it was almost always no more than a 6 hour trip and when it stopped I would snap out of it almost immediately. JMO and YMMV

 

[arielilane]

Speaking outside federal court on Wednesday, Stretch said that her husband is "doing well" now, calling him an "amazing man," who is funny, friendly, outgoing, sensitive, caring and kind.

And while her husband is suffering himself, she acknowledged that the flight in question was also very difficult for the passengers, pilots and flight crew, who must have been terrified.

"It's a hard situation for a lot of people, not just Joe," Stretch told Fox 12. "It's unfortunate that it happened. I'm just glad that he's doing better now."

Pleasant Hill pilot released from custody, can't board another plane

Pilot Joseph Emerson can leave custody as long as he doesn't use drugs like cannabis or psilocybin mushrooms or boarding any "operable aircraft."

www.ktvu.com

December 7, 2023 6:09AM
Updated 10:26AM

 

[arielilane]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An ex-Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight while off-duty and riding in an extra seat in the cockpit was released from jail pending trial Thursday, after an Oregon judge approved it with conditions that include keeping away from aircraft.

Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Ryan made the decision as Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty to reduced charges of reckless endangerment; he previously faced attempted murder charges.

Emerson, of Pleasant Hill, California, has also pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew. The judge in that case also agreed that he could be released pending trial.

Ex-Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut plane’s engines is released from jail; must avoid aircraft

Updated: 14 hours ago

 

[Seattle1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1732842357219815554