Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Court documents show the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to shut off the engines of a Horizon Airlines flight had taken psychedelic mushrooms.
Joseph Emerson was sitting in the cockpit jump seat when he said "I'm not okay" before trying to pull the engine fire extinguisher handles. One pilot struggled with Emerson 30 seconds before he walked to the back of the plane.
He told the flight attendant "you need to cuff me right now, or it's going to be bad."
After being arrested, Emerson told police he was having a nervous breakdown and hadn't slept for 40 hours. He thought he was dreaming when he tried to pull the fire extinguisher handles.
He faces 160 state charges, including attempted murder, and will also be charged in federal court for interfering with a flight crew.