I wrote the other day about an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was sitting in the cockpit jump seat and then tried to shut down the engines. I’m including the paragraph I first wrote about this the other day, and then including a bit more information as it has come out
Alaska Pilot Charged With Attempted Murder
Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, age 44, was onboard Alaska Airlines Flight 2059, operated by Alaska’s subsidiary Horizon Air and scheduled from Everett Field in the Seattle area to San Francisco. 80 passengers and 4 crew were onboard the flight, including Emerson. Mr. Emerson was seated in the cockpit jump seat and at one point tried to “disrupt the operation of the engines.”
The Horizon captain and first officer managed to subdue and detail Emerson. An air traffic control recording during the incident captured the pilot saying, “We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit. The pilots were able to successfully divert the plane to Portland, Oregon. It was met by law enforcement, where Emerson is facing multiple charges including 83 counts of attempted murder. The FAA has announced that this does not appear to be related to current world events.
More Information Comes Out
Ross Feinstein shares the link to the full federal complaint on what I still call Twitter
You can read the full @FBI @TheJusticeDept criminal complaint here: https://t.co/Xy61HU8MOl https://t.co/43YgIqz2qf
— Ross Feinstein (@RossFeinstein) October 24, 2023
- Joseph Emerson (the off-duty pilot in question) had apparently been taking “psychedelic mushrooms” and at one point threw off his headset and said “I am not okay”
- He then tried to activate the engine fire suppression system (which would have also cut off fuel to the engines)
- One pilot actively wrestled with Emerson while the other pilot initiated an emergency
- The whole encounter lasted about 90 seconds in the cockpit
- Later, a flight attendant ziptied Emerson in the rear of the aircraft in a flight attendant seat, where he remained until landing, when he was met by police.
The Bottom Line
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot has been charged with 84 counts of attempted murder for trying to shut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines flight that was in midflight. He was traveling in a jump seat in the cockpit and at one point tried to disrupt the operation of the engines. The other two pilots managed to subdue him and he was met by law enforcement on the ground. Kudos to the pilots who managed to thwart the attempt and keep all 84 people safe.
Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I am not convinced that Captain Emerson wanted to crash the plane. He did appear to want to pull two handles. However, he represents too much risk that he should not be flying commercially for the foreseeable future.
Yeah – it sounded like from reading the reports that afterwards he realized how badly he had screwed up
Fly a plane again… never. 84 counts of attempted murder … not in this particular case. Some jail time for taking the shrooms … yes
He could have killed everyone onboard. He should never fly again, as a pilot or passenger. He should serve time in jail as well. It doesn’t matter that he realized afterward how badly he screwed up. He could have realized that as the plane was crashing as well.
What if someone brings gasoline aboard as carry on luggage to save money? Charge with attempted murder?
What if someone smokes in the lavatory and starts a trash fire by the thrown away cigarette butt? Attempted murder?
In both cases, serious consequences but not dozens of counts of attempted murder.
With Emerson, I am not fully convinced it was attempted murder but is something extremely serious and worthy of punishment.