Ex-pilot accused of trying to cut a passenger flight’s engines reaches plea deals, his lawyer says

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while riding off-duty in the cockpit has reached plea agreements with state and federal prosecutors, his attorney said Thursday.

Attorney Noah Horst declined to discuss details of the agreements ahead of change-of-plea hearings his client, Joseph Emerson, faces Friday in state and federal court in Oregon. He said that Emerson reached the plea agreements because he wants to take responsibility for his actions and hopes to avoid further time behind bars.

Emerson was subdued by the flight crew after trying to cut the engines of a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on Oct. 22, 2023, while he was riding in an extra seat in the cockpit. The plane was diverted to Portland, where it landed safely with more than 80 people on board.

Emerson told police he was despondent over a friend’s recent death, had taken psychedelic mushrooms about two days earlier, and hadn’t slept in over 40 hours. He has said he believed he was dreaming at the time and that he was trying to wake himself up by grabbing two red handles that would have activated the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines.

He was charged in federal court with interfering with a flight crew. A state indictment in Oregon separately charged him with 83 counts of endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft.

He previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges, but on Friday was expected to plead guilty to the federal charge and no-contest to the state charge, which carries the same legal effect as a guilty plea.

Emerson was released from custody in December 2023 pending trial, with requirements that he undergo mental health services, stay off drugs and alcohol, and keep away from aircraft. In the meantime, he has founded a nonprofit focused on pilot mental health.

The averted disaster renewed attention on cockpit safety and the mental fitness of those allowed in them.

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Johnson reported from Seattle.