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

[Seattle1]

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

An Oregon judge made the decision as Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty to reduced charges of reckless endangerment; he previously faced attempted murder charges.

www.seattletimes.com

12/7/23

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, Calif., 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.

Emerson was released from jail around 5 p.m. He and his wife, Sarah Stretch, shared a tearful embrace as he walked out. He declined to comment. Noah Horst, his lawyer, said the couple planned to drive home to California.

The release conditions include that Emerson undergo mental health services, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and not come within 30 feet of an operable aircraft. His bail was set at $50,000 and he had to post 10% of that, or $5,000, to be released, Horst said.

 

[arielilane]

@KGWNews

This is the moment former Alaska Airlines Joseph Emerson was released from jail pending trial. A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge made that decision today after Emerson plead not guilty.

More info: https://kgw.com/article/news/crime/judge-rules-alaska-airlines-pilot-joseph-emerson-can-be-released/283-6c1878a7-170b-413f-b192-4480c509023b

https://twitter.com/x/status/1732929702124454226

8:06 PM · Dec 7, 2023

 

[gitana1]

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.

The only thing I would say to that is that psychedelics can trigger a psychotic episode in someone on the verge. They don’t cause mental illness per se but can trigger something that was emerging.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

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.

Those streamers have no idea what they're talking about in my professional opinion.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Those streamers have no idea what they're talking about in my professional opinion.

I agree with you on this one. Either the mushrooms themselves, or his anxiety about the perceived lingering effects, triggered him. In my laymen’s opinion (and from personal past experience when younger.)

 

[vls12345]

Former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut down engines in-flight shares his story

Joe Emerson, the pilot who attempted to shut down the engines of an in-flight Alaska Airlines plane, shares his story with ABC News.

abcnews.go.com

 

[Seattle1]

Former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut down engines in-flight shares his story

Joe Emerson, the pilot who attempted to shut down the engines of an in-flight Alaska Airlines plane, shares his story with ABC News.

abcnews.go.com

From the quoted link:

Joe Emerson’s future​

Emerson remains in legal limbo. Though he's no longer facing attempted murder charges, he is still facing more than 80 state and federal charges, including 83 counts of reckless endangerment after prosecutors reduced the charges in December. It's possible prosecutors could offer a plea deal or decide to go to trial later this fall.

“At the end of the day, I accept responsibility for the choices that I made. They're my choices," Emerson told ABC News. "What I hope through the judicial processes is that the entirety of not just 30 seconds of the event, but the entirety of my experience is accounted for as society judges me on what happened. And I will accept what the debt that society says I owe."

[..]

The New York Times Presents: Lie To Fly,” which airs at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 on FX, and streams the following day on Hulu.

 

[Chimera]

It's nice that his wife and family are forgiving and accepting of him.
It'd be a struggle for me, for a while anyway.

If he'd managed to shut down those engines, all of the passengers, crew, and himself -- would most likely be dead.
So thankful that didn't happen.
Omo.