Former Alaska Pilot Faces Sentencing After Mid-Flight Engine Scare

A former ✈️Alaska Airlines✈️Pilot who admitted to trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 is set to learn his federal sentence Monday, nearly 14 months after the alarming incident forced an emergency diversion and triggered renewed scrutiny of cockpit safety.

According to The Associated Press, Joseph Emerson — who was riding off-duty in the cockpit jump seat during a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco — pleaded guilty or no contest to all federal and state charges in September. His attorney, Noah Horst, said Emerson wanted to accept responsibility and avoid additional time behind bars.

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a one-year prison sentence. Emerson’s defense team, however, is seeking probation.

The incident unfolded on Oct. 22, 2023, when Emerson grabbed two red handles that would have cut fuel to the engines by triggering the aircraft’s fire suppression system. The flight crew quickly subdued him, and the plane diverted to Portland, where it landed safely with more than 80 passengers and crew on board.

After his arrest, Emerson told officers he had been overwhelmed by grief following a friend’s death, had taken psychedelic mushrooms roughly two days earlier, and had been awake for more than 40 hours. He said he believed he was dreaming and was trying to wake himself up when he grabbed the handles.

Emerson was charged federally with interfering with a flight crew. Oregon prosecutors separately charged him with 83 counts of endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft. He was released in late 2023 pending trial under conditions that included mental health treatment, sobriety, and staying away from aircraft.