An Alaska Airlines plane, like this one operated by Horizon Air, had to divert to Portland, Ore. on Sunday after an off-duty pilot tried to turn off the engines in flight.

An Alaska Airlines plane, like this one operated by Horizon Air, had to divert to Portland, Ore. on Sunday after an off-duty pilot tried to turn off the engines in flight. / AP

Updated October 24, 2023 at 4:06 PM ET

An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot now faces federal charges for interfering with the crew of a flight that had divert Sunday to Portland, Ore. after he allegedly attempted to switch off the plane's engines in mid-air.

The flight, operated by Horizon Airlines, had taken off from Everett, Wash. around 5 pm Sunday evening and was headed to San Francisco. The Embraer 175 jet had more than 80 passengers and crew on board.

The off-duty pilot, Joseph David Emerson, was traveling in the flight deck jump seat sitting behind the pilot and first officer. According to a federal affidavit, the crew said Emerson gave "zero indication of anything wrong" during the initial stages of the flight.

They said he was chatting about the weather and various types of airplanes. At some point as the jet moved south over Oregon, the first officer observed Emerson throw his headset across the cockpit and exclaim, "I am not okay."

That's when the pilots say Emerson grabbed the two red engine shutoff handles. The affidavit says the pilot grabbed Emerson's wrist and they "physically engaged" for an estimated 25-30 seconds and then Emerson "quickly settled down."

The pilot asked Emerson to leave the cockpit and he then walked to the back of the airplane. Emerson allegedly told a flight attendant, "You need to cuff me right now or it's going to be bad." The attendant cuffed his wrists and during the descent into Portland, according to the FBI, he "turned towards an emergency exit door and tried to grab the handle."

In an interview with an FBI agent, another flight attendant said she heard Emerson say "I messed everything up" and that "he tried to kill everybody."

During an interrogation, Emerson told the FBI that he had a "nervous breakdown" and had not slept in 40 hours. He said he'd felt dehydrated and tired. He told the agent that he pulled both emergency shut off handles because "I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up."

The FBI agent says Emerson denied taking any medication, although they did talk about the use psychedelic mushrooms. Emerson said "it was his first-time taking mushrooms," according to the FBI affidavit — though it was not immediately clear if he was actually under the influence of mushrooms during the flight.

Emerson allegedly told the FBI that he had become depressed about six months prior.

Even before these latest details became public, the incident was renewing concerns across the aviation industry about the mental health of pilots, and whether they are getting the kind of treatment they need.

Many pilots are wary of seeking treatment for mental issues, aviation experts say, because they are concerned that they could be grounded by federal regulators if they do.

"Pilots are wired to deal with situations and get the job done," says Dennis Tajer, a veteran pilot and a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents over 15,000 pilots at American Airlines.

Tajer says pilots have a lot invested in their training and careers, and are afraid of losing it.

"You think that your job is at stake, the income for your family is at stake," Tajer said. "If I don't have the mental fitness to get this done, I'm going to be grounded, lose my job, lose my home. And these are all awfulizing thoughts that the pilots go through that stop them from getting the care that they need if they need it."

The stigma around seeking mental health care has diminished over time, Tajer says, but it has not gone away completely.

Federal regulators are clearly aware of the issue. The leaders of the Federal Aviation Administration have urged pilots to come forward and get treatment if they need it, saying they will not automatically lose their medical clearance to fly as a result.

"Even if you need to take medication to stay well, you may be able to get a special issuance from my office," says Susan Northrup, who oversees the pilot medical certification process at the FAA, in a video posted on the agency's web site.

"The most important thing is that you receive treatment early so that you can get better," Northrup says. "We don't want you to get worse because you're afraid of losing your medical certificate."

Emerson has been flying for Alaska Airlines for 10 years and has been a pilot since 2001.

In addition to the federal charge, he also faces 83 state counts of attempted murder, among other charges, including reckless endangerment and endangering an aircraft. Emerson made a brief court appearance in Portland Tuesday afternoon and his attorney entered a not guilty plea to the state charges.

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Tags: Alaska Airlines