- Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty Thursday to reckless endangerment
- The pilot is accused of trying to shoot down a passenger plane in October
- He claimed that a magic mushroom-induced stupor almost caused the near-disaster
An off-duty pilot who allegedly nearly downed a passenger plane after ingesting psychedelic magic mushrooms has pleaded not guilty to 83 counts of reckless endangerment.
Joseph David Emerson, 44, allegedly tried to shut down the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet on Oct. 22 after admitting to taking the hallucinogenic drugs that left him in a confused stupor two days earlier.
The pilot and father of two was arraigned in Multnomah County Court in Portland, Oregon, where he appeared Thursday to deny 83 charges of recklessly endangering another person and one charge of endangering an aircraft.
After a not guilty plea was entered, a judge approved his release from custody as he posted $50,000 bail, with the condition that he not come within 30 feet of an aircraft.
He must appear in court again on January 19.
Pilot Joe Emerson, 44, said a manic, mushroom-induced psychotic episode nearly caused him to down a passenger plane in October
The father of two (pictured during his previous court appearance on October 24) pleaded not guilty to 83 counts of reckless endangerment
Emerson was initially charged with attempted murder, but his case was reduced to reckless endangerment by a grand jury last week. The 83 charges of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, involve every person on board the plane.
After the charges were filed, Emerson's attorneys said in a statement that attempted murder was “never appropriate” because he “never intended to hurt or endanger anyone else – he simply wanted to return home, to his wife and children.'
“Simply put, Captain Emerson thought he was in a dream; His actions were taken in a deliberate attempt to awaken from that dream and return home to his family,” the statement argued.