Jumpseat Pilot Was Battling Depression

An Alaska Airlines off-duty pilot who tried to disable an aircraft on Sunday told investigators he had self-medicated with psilocybin (magic) mushrooms 48 hours before the incident to battle his escalating mental health issues. He had also not slept in 40 hours. In charging documents reviewed by the Associated Press it was revealed that Joseph David Emerson, 44, had a long history of depression and that before trying to pull the handles that cut fuel and power to the engines he told the on-duty pilots "I'm not OK." Emerson pleaded not guilty to a total of 167 charges (one each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment for the 83 people onboard) and a single federal count of endangering an aircraft.

Emerson was deadheading in the jumpseat on the E175 when he reached for the fire suppression system for both engines. The documents say he only got them partway down before the flying pilots intervened and put them back in position. There was no interruption in power. The incident occurred over the coast of Oregon as the flight, operated by Horizon Airlines, made its way from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco. The pilots told investigators they struggled with Emerson for 30 seconds or less before he got up and left the flight deck on his own. Flight attendants said he told them, “You need to cuff me right now or it’s going to be bad.” They did put him in plastic restraints, but he tried to release an emergency exit door during the descent and a flight attendant had to intervene.

Emerson has been "relieved of all duties" and is being held in jail before his next court appearance. Magic mushrooms have been touted as a promising therapy for depression, but clinical trials have only started recently. Oregon legalized the mushrooms for adults but they remain a controlled substance in the rest of the country. It's unlikely he was still impaired by the dose he took two days before the flight. Emerson's most recent medical was in September.