The wife of off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson is breaking her silence and says he would “never knowingly” hurt anyone as a new video emerges of him being led off a plane by police for tried to turn off the engines

New footage shows the moment an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot was led off the plane by police as he tried to shut down the engines at 30,000 feet after ingesting magic mushrooms.

Joseph Emerson, 44, was sitting in the jump seat on a flight from Everett, Washington to San Francisco when he allegedly tried to pull a lever to shut off the Horizon Air plane’s fuel supply.

The father-of-two was arrested in Portland, Oregon, where the plane was forced to make an emergency landing after the terrifying incident last week. He faces 83 counts of attempted murder and one count of endangering an aircraft.

Video from the day of the incident shows Emerson being led off the plane by uniformed police.

Now his wife, Sarah Stretch, has also broken her silence about the ordeal for the first time to reveal her ‘shock’. She said, ‘That’s not my Joe. He would never have done that. He would never have done that knowingly.’

Emerson’s wife Sarah Stretch spoke of her “shock” over the incident as she addressed reporters Thursday outside her husband’s first appearance in federal court.

She revealed that her husband was struggling with depression, CNN reports.

Stretch told reporters outside federal court after her husband’s appearance Thursday, “That’s not the man I married.” That is not the man that all these people in this world come together to support him, to love him.”

Her husband denied the charges against him during an initial appearance at the Multnomah County Jail earlier this week.

Emerson’s attorney Ethan Levi said Good morning America his client “did not intend to harm himself or anyone else on the plane.”

Emerson himself admitted to police that he had not slept in 40 hours and had ingested magic mushrooms 48 hours prior to the October incident.

The chaos unfolded in the cockpit of an Embraer 175 aircraft. Emerson was sitting in the jump seat, used for off-duty pilots, when he suddenly took off his headphones and said, “I’m not okay.”

He then tried to pull two red levers that would have shut down the plane’s engines before any of the pilots could ‘wrestle’ him off.

Emerson later told federal officials, “Yes… I pulled both emergency buttons because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanted to wake up.”

After the brief physical struggle, Emerson was locked out of the cockpit and seen “calmly” walking to the back of the plane, telling a flight attendant that he had just been “kicked off the cockpit.”

Emerson faces 83 counts of attempted murder and one count of endangering an aircraft, which he denies

Neighbors described Emerson as a “fantastic dad,” a friendly man who played basketball with his children on a court he built for them in the backyard and invited neighbors to parties

An air emergency was declared and Emerson sat in the back of the plane. He reportedly told the flight attendant, “You have to handcuff me now or it’s going to get bad.”

He was placed in wrist restraints and then tried to pull open an emergency exit door but was stopped by a flight attendant, the DOJ said.

The federal affidavit also states that Emerson became depressed about six months ago and said it was the first time he had used psychedelic mushrooms.

It added that the father thought he was having a ‘nervous breakdown’.

He told police in an interview afterwards: ‘I didn’t feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren’t paying attention to what was going on. They didn’t… it didn’t seem right,” he told police.

Emerson denied taking any medications, but spoke to police about using psychedelic mushrooms. He told them it was his first time using the drug.

Once arrested, he asked if he could waive his right to an attorney with the Port of Portland Police, saying, “I admit what I did. I will not fight the charges you want to bring against me, guys,” the document reads.

Emerson was sitting in the cockpit’s third “jump” seat when the chaos began – a seat often used by off-duty pilots who have to fly a later flight so they don’t have to take a passenger seat.

“Emerson has denied the allegations and his attorney Ethan Levi said his client did not intend to harm himself or anyone on the plane.”

The captain told ground control, “We have the man who tried to shut down the engines from the cockpit. It doesn’t sound like he’s causing a problem at the back right now, and I think he’s subdued. Furthermore, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and park.”

There were 80 passengers, including children, and four crew members on board the plane.

A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said Emerson attempted to shut down the engines by turning on the engine fire suppression system.

The fire extinguishing system – also known as the engine fire handle – consists of a T-shaped handle for each engine.

‘When the T-handle is fully deployed, a valve in the wing closes to shut off fuel supply to the engine. In this case, our crew’s quick response to reset the T-handles ensured no loss of engine power,” Alaska Airlines said.

Emerson previously served as a safety officer at his flying club in California, where he was described as a “consummate professional.”

Neighbors also painted a picture of a loving father and husband, calling him a “fantastic dad.”