Off-duty pilot attempts to crash plane to escape bad trip on mushrooms

An off-duty pilot facing 83 counts of attempted murder after he tried to crash a plane claims he was having a bad trip on hallucinogenic mushrooms.

A 44-year-old off-duty pilot is facing 83 counts of attempted murder after trying to switch off an Alaska Airlines fuel supply mid-flight.

Joseph Emerson was seated in the plane’s cockpit when he reportedly attempted to pull two handles to cut the engine’s fuel but was subdued by the crew and arrested upon landing.

Now, Emerson has revealed to the New York Times from a jailhouse interview that the incident took place after he allegedly consumed hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms two days prior.

"He was cuffed and restrained in the jet, but had enough space to move around that he chugged straight from a pot of coffee as he continued to act erratically."https://t.co/re6VxQk6Dw via https://t.co/EsYV8eGxr6

— DOCUMAX (@documax) November 10, 2023

Having taken the mushrooms during a weekend getaway commemorating the death of his best friend in 2018, Emerson claims he was experiencing a bad trip in which he didn’t know what was real.

Texting a friend that he was “having a panic attack”, Emerson ultimately determined the best course of action would be to crash the plane he was onboard in hopes of waking up.

“I thought I would stop both engines, the plane would start to head towards a crash, and I would wake up,” he said, revealing he had been struggling with depression for months and had not slept for 40 hours prior to the flight.

I could be wrong. Don't shoot me down in flames, it's pure speculation. I've a funny feeling that this chap won't try magic mushrooms anymore.

The mind is a delicate mechanism.#psychology
Pilot breaks silence after trying to shut down plane's engines. https://t.co/re6VxQk6Dw

— DOCUMAX (@documax) November 10, 2023

His trip, however, continued even after Emerson’s first attempt to “wake up” was stopped. Upon descent, he allegedly tried to open an emergency exit so that he could jump out and later proceeded to strip down, urinate on himself, and masturbate while in the airport detention room.

“I am horrified that those actions put myself at risk and others at risk,” Emerson said. “That crew got dealt a situation there’s no manual, checklist, or procedure that’s been written for.”

Emerson has since pleaded not guilty to all 83 counts of attempted murder and has been relieved of all duties by Alaska Airlines; “I don’t know if I’ll ever fly an airplane again. I really don’t. And I had a moment where that kind of became obvious.”

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