Cockpit audio released: Pleasant Hill pilot tried to shut engines off mid-flight

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - Newly released video shows the moments after a former pilot and Pleasant Hill native attempted to shut down the engines of an Alaska Airlines flight while riding in the cockpit jump seat last year.

Footage from inside a police car captures Joseph Emerson, the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, telling officers, "And then I took mushrooms." When asked by a medic how long ago, Emerson responds, "48 hours."

Emerson was flying as a passenger on a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on Oct. 22, 2023, when authorities say he suddenly lunged for an emergency handle that would have cut fuel to the engines. Cockpit audio from the incident documents the crew calling for help and restraining him.

Here is some of what was said in the cockpit: 

PILOT: "Horizon, we need to make an emergency landing.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: "I'm sorry, who was that?

PILOT: "That's Horizon two, zero, five, nine, we've got a jump seater. Just try to shut our engines off. We need to go direct to Portland now."

Later, a police medic asks:  "You feel like you want to harm yourself?"

Emerson answered: "No, I just felt like I wanted to wake up. I felt like I was having a dream. I felt like I was having a bad dream. Okay. I thought, I just, I've been feeling like I've been having a bad dream since two nights ago."

The Horizon pilot and co-pilot were able to subdue Emerson and get the plane safely on the ground. Emerson has since founded a non-profit focusing on the health and wellness of pilots and air traffic controllers. 

Emerson has been sentenced to time served and community service. He was also ordered to stay away from all aircraft.