Pilot on Magic Mushrooms Tried to Shut Down Engines Mid-Air
Joseph Emerson, an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, grabbed cockpit controls and tried to cut fuel to both engines during a passenger flight, because he thought he was dreaming.
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For a terrifying minute over U.S. skies, a routine Alaska Airlines flight almost turned into hell.
In October 2023, Joseph Emerson, a veteran pilot traveling off-duty in the cockpit, suddenly reached for critical engine controls and tried to shut down the aircraft mid-flight.
Why? By his own account, he was on a psychedelic mushroom trip, had gone more than 40 hours without sleep, and had convinced himself he was dreaming.
“I thought if I pulled the handles, I would wake up,” he later told the court.
Onboard were 84 passengers and crew members, unaware of how close they came to disaster.
The flight, headed from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, was diverted to Portland after the crew quickly restrained Emerson. He was handcuffed in a jumpseat as the plane made a safe emergency landing.
Emerson pleaded guilty to state charges, struck a plea deal, and expressed deep remorse. He explained he was grieving the loss of a close friend at the time, had taken psychedelic mushrooms two days earlier, and had spiraled into exhaustion and hallucinations.
The Oregon court sentenced him to 50 days in jail (time already served) plus five years’ probation. He still faces a federal trial this November, where prosecutors may seek up to a year in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Pickard did not mince words:
“He came dangerously close to destroying not just the lives of 84 people on board Flight 2059, but the lives of their families and friends as well.”
One passenger, Alison Snyder, said she’ll never feel the same about flying again:
“Emerson knew he was unfit to fly, yet he still sat in that cockpit. His behavior showed he lacked the judgment required to be a pilot, and he should never be allowed near the cockpit again.”
At sentencing, Emerson told the court the ordeal changed him:
“This hard journey has made me a better father, a better husband, a better member of my community. I used to numb myself with alcohol. Today I get to be the dad I couldn’t be back then.”
The pilot who thought he was dreaming nearly turned a packed passenger flight into a nightmare. Thankfully, the crew reacted in time, no one was hurt, and what could have been one of aviation’s worst disasters became instead one of its strangest survival stories.