The former pilot who attempted to turn off the engines of a passenger airplane mid-flight hopes he can one day fly again.
The then-pilot had taken psychedelic mushrooms the week before the incident during a weekend trip with buddies in remembrance of their deceased friend.
The psychedelic effects of the mushrooms typically last a few hours, but Emerson claims he suffered lingering side effects for days.
The plane had been traveling from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on Oct. 22, when Emerson began to lose touch with reality and began thinking he was “trapped” on an “imaginary” plane.
He tried to pull the red handles that would have turned off the plane’s engines in midair, likely killing all 83 souls on board.
Tragedy was averted when the pilots apprehended Emerson and landed the aircraft safely in Portland, Oregon.
The murder charges against Emerson have been dropped, but the former pilot still faces over 80 state and federal charges.
“I don’t know in what capacity I’m going to fly again and I don’t know if that’s an opportunity that’s going to be afforded to me.
The former pilot hopes to resume flying someday after attempting to switch off a passenger aircraft’s engines midair.
In his most in-depth interview since the incident, Joseph Emerson, 44, talked about the fatal error in judgment that destroyed his career, the emotional toll it took on his family, and his outlook on the future.
In a Friday interview with ABC News, he said, “It’s 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can’t.”.
Pilot accused of attempting to crash the aircraft claims he was attempting to awaken from a dream.
When Emerson allegedly attempted to pull two handles that would have activated a fire suppression system and cut fuel to the engines while he was seated in the jump seat of Horizon Air Flight 2059, an Alaska Airlines affiliate, the incident occurred.
The week before the incident, the then-pilot had gone on a weekend trip with friends to remember their friend who had passed away and had consumed psychedelic mushrooms.
Although the psychedelic effects of the mushrooms usually wear off in a few hours, Emerson reports that his side effects lingered for days.
On October 19, the aircraft was en route from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco. 22. At that point, Emerson started to feel as though he was “trapped” on a “imaginary” plane and lost contact with reality.
After the plane goes off the runway, 331 Swiss International Passengers are left stranded in Kazakhstan for 20 hours.
According to Emerson, “I was pretty much convinced that this wasn’t real and that I wasn’t going home at that point, so I kind of threw off my headset.”. And that’s when I realized that this wasn’t real because the pilots didn’t respond to my utterly bizarre behavior in a way that I would have expected them to. I must awaken. “.”.
His attempt to pull the red handles would have killed all 83 people on board by stopping the plane’s engines in midair. When the pilots caught up with Emerson and made a safe landing in Portland, Oregon, tragedy was avoided.
Emerson claimed that a jail doctor had diagnosed him with hallucinogen persisting perception disorder, a condition that had made him confused about reality in the cockpit and prolonged his experience with psychedelics.
On 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of endangering an aircraft in connection with the incident, he entered a not guilty plea.
Emerson is still facing more than 80 state and federal charges, even though the murder charges against him have been dropped.
“In the end, I acknowledge that I am accountable for my decisions. “Those are my choices,” Emerson declared. “I hope that as society judges me based on what happened, the full story—not just the first thirty seconds of the incident—is told through the legal system. And I’ll take on the debt that people believe I have to society. “.
Emerson is currently concentrating on launching his brand-new nonprofit, Clear Skies Ahead, with the goal of providing funding for initiatives that assist pilots who are dealing with mental health problems.
“It goes without saying that I want to fly once more. “I would be completely dishonest if I declined,” he uttered. “I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to fly again or in what capacity. That’s not something I have to engineer. It’s up to me to take the action that is in front of me and position myself so that it can occur. “.”.
