Pilot arrested after trying to sabotage plane mid-flight while tripping on shrooms

An off-duty pilot was arrested after he tried to turn off the engine of the plane mid-flight. He has since revealed that he was tripping on psychedelic mushrooms.

Joseph Emerson, 44, was off duty when he attempted to take down an entire plane by turning off the engine.

Emerson has since revealed that he was tripping on psychedelic mushrooms for the first time during his “nervous breakdown.”

After trying to turn off the engine, Emerson was cuffed for the remainder of the flight before it made its emergency landing.

Pilot put 84 lives at risk mid-air including his own

On Sunday, Joseph Emerson joined two pilots of Alaska Airlines when he was off duty and attempted to turn off the engine of the plane.

Though he has been a pilot for 22 years, Emerson will likely never fly again, as he admitted to being high on mushrooms to the authorities who arrested him after the plane made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

Before reaching for the T-handle, which shuts off the engine’s fuel, the pilots of the plane heard Emerson say, “I am not okay.” He then threw his headset and put 84 lives at risk mid-air.

Once the pilots were able to control Emerson after about a 90-second struggle, Emerson asked an attendant to handcuff him, saying, “You need to cuff me right now, or it’s going to be bad.”

The attendant then reported that when Emerson was settled down, he was texting on his phone and saying aloud how he nearly killed 84 people including himself.

Once the plane landed, authorities arrested Emerson. He then said that he had tried psychedelic mushrooms for the “first time” and that it triggered a “nervous breakdown” due to having been “depressed” for six months and not sleeping for over 40 hours.

Emerson has since been booked by Multnomah County on 83 counts of attempted murder and reckless endangerment. However, it is unknown if the state of Oregon will continue forward with federal charges.