Three passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight when an off-duty pilot tried to shut down the plane’s engines are suing for emotional distress.
Joseph Emerson, 44, was off-duty and sitting in the jump seat in the cockpit of a Horizon Air plane from Everett, Washington to San Francisco when he allegedly tried to cut off the engines’ fuel supply while high on magic mushrooms .
Now passengers Matthew Doland, Theresa Stelter and Paul Stephen have filed a legal complaint against Alaskan Airlines, claiming that Emerson should never have been in the cockpit because he suffered from depression and lack of sleep.
“The pilots and flight attendants operating Flight 2059 responded without hesitation to ensure the safety of everyone on board,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement, confirming it was reviewing the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that the plane experienced “what felt like a nosedive” and that the plaintiffs suffered from anxiety, insomnia, fear of flying and other emotional effects as a result of the experience.
Emerson faces 83 counts of attempted murder and one count of endangering an aircraft, which he denies
The father-of-two was arrested in Portland, Oregon, where the plane was forced to make an emergency landing after the terrifying incident.
He faces 83 counts of attempted murder and one count of endangering an aircraft.
The pilot made its first appearance last month at the Multnomah County Jail.
Emerson’s attorney Ethan Levi told Good Morning America that his client “did not intend to harm himself or anyone 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.”
Video shows the moment former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, 44, was escorted from a Horizon Air flight after he tried to shut down the plane’s engines in mid-air
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.
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
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.”
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.
Passengers Matthew Doland, Theresa Stelter and Paul Stephen have filed a legal complaint against Alaskan Airlines
Emerson denied using drugs, but spoke to police about using psychedelic mushrooms and told them it was his first time using the drug
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.
Video from the day of the incident shows Emerson being led off the plane by uniformed police.
Emerson’s wife, Sarah Stretch, said, “That’s not my Joe.” He would never have done that. He would never have done that knowingly.’