Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot said he took 'magic mushrooms' 48 hours before allegedly trying to shut down plane engines
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • last year • 24 commentsBy: Tom Costello, Jay Blackman, Erik Ortiz and Andrew Blankstein
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The off-duty pilot accused of trying to bring down an Alaska Airlines flight told investigators that he took psychedelic mushrooms 48 hours before the incident, that he had been depressed and that he believed he was experiencing a mental breakdown, authorities said.
The off-duty pilot — Joseph Emerson, 44, of California — has been charged with more than 80 counts of attempted murder, andthe FBI is investigating whether he was under the influence when he tried to shut down the plane's engines while he was sitting in the cockpit of Sunday's flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, officials told NBC News.
An attorney for Emerson entered a plea of not guilty related to the attempted murder charges Tuesday afternoon.
Emerson also said he had not slept in about 40 hours and indicated his depression may have been boosted by the recent death of a friend, investigators who interviewed him said in an Oregon criminal complaint charging him.
"Emerson indicated he was in mental crisis and had not slept in over 40 hours and requested medical attention," the Oregon filing says.
The Oregon complaint, filed Tuesday, added details — among them that Emerson said he took mushrooms two days before the flight — to the backstory initially sketched out by a federal complaint filed Sunday.
The state case includes 83 counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of endangering an aircraft; the federal case includes one count of interfering with a flight crew or flight attendants, as summarized by NBC News affiliate KGW of Portland, Oregon.
Emerson denied to investigators he had taken any medications before he got on the flight but spoke about becoming depressed six months ago and said it was his first time taking mushrooms, the federal complaint says.
"I didn't feel OK," Emerson said, telling investigators that he was tired and dehydrated, according to the federal complaint. "It seemed like the pilots weren't paying attention to what was going on."
"I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up," he added.
Joseph Emerson.Joe Emerson / via Facebook
The psychoactive experience associated with the psychedelic mushrooms is said to normally last four to six hours, sometimes eight, but it often depends on dosage, according to experts.
A psychedelic drug researcher, Dr. Charles Grob, the director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said it was possible the effects of psilocybin could last for days after ingestion under certain conditions.
"I wouldn't doubt that psilocybin mushrooms could have had residual effects even 48 hours after ingestion, especially if he took a large dose and was without any effective supervision, preparation, oversight or follow-up integration," Grob said.
Emerson is being held in an Oregon jail on 167 charges, including the 83 counts of attempted murder. The judge in the case said a custody hearing would be held separately within five days, and Emerson will remain in jail for now.
He was also expected to make his first appearance in federal court later this week.
'I am not OK'
Emerson had been sitting in a flight deck jump seat in the cockpit, which is permitted for pilots who may be commuting between airports.
The federal complaint alleges that Emerson was engaging in "casual conversation" with the other pilots, discussing the weather and his career with Alaska Airlines, when he tried to grab two red handles that activate a fire suppression system. Activation includes cutting power, according to the filing. Emerson threw his headset across the cockpit and told the pilots "I am not OK" as he reached for the handles, the federal complaint said.
Pilot Alan Koziol said a flight screen indicated a fire suppression system was activated, according to the state criminal complaint, but it appeared that the engines had not been cut off. That would have resulted in the plane's gliding and descending, the other pilot, Emil Riemer, told investigators, according to the state filing.
Riemer said that the plane was "seconds away" from being a glider but that Emerson was not able to pull the handles all the way down before the pair intervened, according to the state complaint.
Experts say the ability to quickly turn off an engine may be crucial in emergency situations, such as fires.
One of the pilots grabbed Emerson's wrists, while the other declared an in-flight emergency, according to the federal document. Emerson had to be "wrestled with" for several seconds until he settled down, the pilots told investigators, the federal complaint says.
Emerson was then forced out of the cockpit, and the other pilots secured the cockpit door, it says.
Flight attendants told investigators that after they were alerted to an issue up front, they went to bring Emerson to the back, the federal filing says.
Emerson said, "You need to cuff me right now or it's going to be bad," according to the flight attendants' account in the federal filing.
Flex handcuffs were placed around Emerson's wrists, it said. While he was seated at the back of the plane, he tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit but was stopped by a flight attendant who placed her hands on top of his, the federal complaint says.
A flight attendant said Emerson made comments like "I messed everything up" and acknowledged that he put people's lives at risk, according to the federal filing.
'I may eye contact with him'
There were 83 passengers on board Flight 2059, the state complaint said. Some on the flight, operated by Alaska Airlines subsidiary Horizon Air, lauded the crew's quick actions and ability to stop Emerson.
"I made eye contact with him," Aubrey Gavello said, after Emerson was booted from the cockpit and walked to the back of the plane. "It was, like, one of those soul-chilling, dead in the eyes, just calm and just kind of like he was taking in everyone around him."
About 35 minutes after takeoff, a flight attendant "frantically" alerted passengers over the loudspeaker that "we have a situation" and that the pilots needed to land the plane, Gavello said.
No details were given; Gavello said it sounded like a medical-related emergency.
Gavello said she saw the flight attendant and a man, who at the time no one knew was an off-duty pilot, walking from the cockpit to the back of the plane.
She said that the man was in zip ties and that the flight attendant was "trying to calm him down, saying that we were going to get him on the ground and everything was going to be OK."
The man remained seated in the back, Gavello said, and the flight attendant informed the cabin that "I just want to let everyone know they're safe" and reassured the passengers that the plane was not having mechanical issues.
"Her second announcement calmed everyone down," Gavello said, "and then we landed."
The plane made an emergency stop in Portland, where police were waiting to board it and escort Emerson off.
Gavello's boyfriend, Alex Wood, who said he had slept through the ordeal and woke up only when they were landing, had no clue that it was an Alaska Airlines employee who was accused of putting lives in peril and learned more details only when he saw news reports Monday morning.
"It's very scary to know that that person was allowed in the cockpit, in the jump seat, where he was sitting," Wood said.
Gavello said: "I thought I was being dramatic, because I got off the plane and my boyfriend and I weren't sitting together, and I was, like, shaking, and he was asleep the whole time, so he didn't know. And I was like, 'Am I being so dramatic, or was that really traumatizing?'"
The investigation
Alaska Airlines said it was "grateful for the professional handling of the situation" by the flight crew. The FBI also said it was investigating with support from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Emerson was initially employed by Horizon Air in 2001, and he has also worked for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.
A review of his mental state will be part of the investigation, aviation analysts said.
Pilots over 40 must undergo medical evaluations every six months and disclose whether they are having mental health issues or taking medications. But full mental health evaluations are not part of a pilot's physical exams, according to the FAA. Emerson's last physical was in September.
Emerson lives with his wife and young children in the San Francisco Bay Area community of Pleasant Hill, where a neighbor said he was surprised by the allegations.
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Recently I've made friends with a group of people in their thirties. And it seems that that generation is really into Hallucinogenic drugs-- Psilocybin yes but a lot are into Ayahuaska. Also Acid (LSD)-- but unlike in the 60's they do "microdosing:>
They are not using these as "party drugs"_- rather they are using them supposedly for "spiritual" and or psychological "growth".
They say they should always be used with an experienced person as a guide.
There are even several places where you can stay for a few days and have guides for your trips as well as other things in these facilities. (Some are with actual shamans in the jungles of Peru or Mexico...
But users should always do them with an experienced "guide" present. (And not if you are depressed-- these are not anti-depressants">
14 best ayahuasca retreats for 2023
(I have been mutually following someone, Dutch women, from IGM who has written a few articles and done a few videos about her experiences at Rythmia which is listed (#13) in the above article. That was a while back-- she's quite an entrepreneur, now she's doing YouTube videos on how to make money with online businesses (not using drugs). She's quite a successful entrepreneur.
P.S: In most of these Ayahuaska retreats they require a medical (and psychological screening before they accept you for the program) and there are MDs & Psychologists of staff.
In addition I have friends from a course I took who are mostly "Life Coaches" (yuk!) and/orwho have experience with Ayahuaska.
One guy I know was abused as a young child (victim of several rapes)-- he's has done two visits to South America shamans doing Ayahuaska ceremonies-- he claims the deeply buried trauma has been mostly healed as a result.
Another woman I know, Harvard Law School grad, after years at a law firm quit. She has several alternative businesses now, also some involvement with Cannabis business. She has done a lot of micro-dosing of LSD.
Ayahuaska is "all the rage" amongst large numbers of "thirty-somethings".
Remember what the Dormouse said.
How could I ever forget?
LOL
Some of the studies I've casually come across talk about potential benefits microdosing seem to have on depression. Lots of study remains before it's confirmed though.
I know several people who've tried it for thatand other conditions. Comments were from positive to very excited about the results.
Of course its not a really large sample, but seems convincing.
Way back in the early 2000's I tried to get my VA Physic to proscribe me Ketamine, but he wouldn't do it. LOL!
If memory serves, isn't that a horse tranquilizer?
P.S: A quote from Paracelsus (he used to play Left Out for the Brooklyn Stingrays) is relevant here:
Paracelsus coined his famous dictum, 'What is there that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing is without poison. Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison',
Now-a-days a word I keep hearing from Gen Z is: "microdosing".
They were doing microdosing testing for depression with amazing results. That eventually led them to psychedelics.
my nephew got treated with it for his PTSD after multiple service and contractor deployments in iraq and afghanistan. he talked my sister into trying it for her anxiety attacks. cured and cured. it was my contention half a century ago that everyone should be issued a hit of LSD as a sanity seine. if you were able to get thru that, you were probably going to be able to mentally cope with anything afterwards.
Morning devangy...
Pleased to hear it helped your nephew especially after what he would have gone through and your sister...
nephew kicked in terrorist's doors while holding the squad automatic weapon. sister was an elementary school teacher and librarian in gooberville. same enemies, different battlefields...
Once you’ve macrodosed microdosing just doesn’t seem very appealing.
Evening...a women here just killed three people after serving up poisonous mushies for lunch..
Police are trying to work out if it was accidental or deliberate...
She nearly killed a fourth person but he has since recovered...
Some Mushrooms are highly poisonous, some benign. Which ones are which is well known. However I've heard of persons who go foraging for Mushrooms (for food not for any "highs") and have horrible experiences eating them-- but they are not well informed as to how to recognize which ones are poisonous.
Also it seems it depends upon the area they go to-- in some areas very similar looking Mushrooms where some are poisonous and some aren't.
(Even if I felt I could tell the difference its foraging myself is scary to me-- I prefer buying them at Whole Foods).
P.S: I cook almost all of my meals & occasionally use rather ordinary Mushrooms in cooking-- mainly for the taste.
In addition I regularly take small doses of concentrated Mushroom caps each for specific benefits-- just as I take vitamins etc. (Cordyceps, Lion''s Mane, Turkey tail each for specific benefits. Also Reishi and occasionally Chaga). None of them get me 'high" (none are "hallucinogenic")
I stopped using recreational drugs-- even marijuana, some time ago and drink very rarely-- only Pinot Noir & that in moderation.
Morning Krishna...the ones she used are called death cap mushies so think that pretty well says it all...
She claimed she bought them from as Asian grocer in Melbourne, but can't remember where exactly..I don't think so...
The case is on going so I guess time will tell when the police get to the bottom of it all...
That shit is legal out on the west coast.
wonderful isn't it?
Yes, I definitely agree.
"Big Government Republicans" are continually looking for ways for government to interfere in our lives-- wanting big government to expand into whole new areas such as mandating our right to choose our types of healhcare to further control natural substances that we can use to get high.
Emerson said the men on the chessboard got up and told him where to go.
Ah yes-- passively yet again taking advice from those cunning little men-persons on the chessboard. A little tune for your listening please from the great man himself:
When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know
Questions:
1. Who the fuck is Alice?
2. And whomever she may be-- is she still spending countless hours in her restaurant-- toiling over a hot stove? (If so, the whole thing sounds very sexist to me!)
3. What are Alice's pronouns? Does Alice identify as a he, she, it, them-- or "other"? ("None of the above"?)
You can get anything you want from Alice’s restaurant, excepting Alice. She saves that for Ray.