The Alaska Airlines Pilot Who Tried To Crash The Plane

This is an intersectional story, because it links pilots who shouldn't be flying, magic mushrooms, and Oregon. According to KRON4,

Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill [CA], was off-duty and sitting in the cockpit Sunday evening when he suddenly tried to cut off the jet’s engines, according to on-duty pilots who flew Horizon Air Flight AS 2059.

The pilots said they wrestled with Emerson for control of the aircraft, he pulled on emergency controls to cut the engines’ fuel, and the jet was “seconds away” from becoming a glider, prosecutors wrote in court documents. The quick-thinking captain, co-pilot, and flight crew were able to throw Emerson out of the cockpit, handcuff him, and make an emergency landing at a Portland airport.

On Tuesday, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office filed 84 charges against Emerson, including 83 counts of felony second-degree attempted murder, and one count of endangering an aircraft. The flight had 11 passengers who were children, court records state.

. . . Emerson was interrogated by Port of Portland Police Department officers who hauled him off the plane and took him into custody. During the interrogation, he admitted to pulling the jet’s emergency shut-off handles that control engine fuel, and described a motive behind why he did it, court documents filed by Deputy District Attorney Anthony Dundon state.

. . . “Emerson indicated he was in a mental crisis and had not slept in over 40 hours. Emerson admitted to (POPPD Officer) Thommen that he pulled both emergency shut-off handles because Emerson believed he was dreaming and wanted to wake up,” Dundon wrote.

. . . Emerson also said he had struggled with depression for six years and his best friend had recently passed away, according to court documents. He also admitted to trying “magic mushrooms” for the first time 48 hours prior to the flight, Dundon wrote.

So, aren't pilots routinely screened for psychological problems? Well, not really As of the 2012 link,

The case of the ranting JetBlue Airways captain—who went berserk when his co-pilot locked him out of the cockpit after noticing erratic behavior—got us wondering: how are airline pilots tested for soundness of mind?

Although the Federal Aviation Administration requires physicals every year for commercial pilots under 40 and every six months for those older, the FAA does not require psychological checks. The FAA-approved doctors order testing only if they think a pilot needs it.

. . . In the case of JetBlue captain Clayton Osbon, who snapped in mid-air on an Airbus A-320 on March 27, causing Flight 191 from New York to Las Vegas to be diverted to Amarillo, Texas, “it looked to me like a panic attack,” says Funk. The co-pilot “got the distraction out of the cockpit, which is the way you think as a crew member. He did what I expect any pilot at his level to do. You don’t fly at JetBlue if you’re a slouch.”

Once locked out, Osbon began shouting about threats from al Qaeda, Iran, Iraq, and bombs aboard; he had to be subdued and strapped down by passengers, while the co-pilot took over and later landed the airliner. JetBlue is as mystified as anyone else about Osbon’s meltdown. “I’ve known the captain personally for a long period of time,” CEO Dave Barger told the “Today” show on March 28. “There [was] no indication of this at all in the past. Consummate professional.”

It’s exceptionally rare for a commercial pilot to simply lose it in flight, says John Cox, who flew for USAir for 25 years and is now president of Safety Operating Systems, an aviation safety consulting company in Washington, D.C. “I’ve been in aviation 42 years and I can’t come up with another case like this. This is an incapacitation event, and the leading cause of that is food poisoning…From a mental standpoint, it could be any number of things such as reaction to medication, a brain tumor, or a long list of things.”

In the case of Alaska Airlines pilot Emerson, it was magic mushrooms. But it's notable that Emerson was 44, which meant he was subject to physicals with some implicit psychological component at six-month intervals, and he had been suffering from depression for the past six years, yet he fell through the cracks.

Add to this the new tendency to legalize psychedelics, including magic mushrooms. Earlier this year,

Oregon has taken an unprecedented step in offering psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, to the public. Epic Healing Eugene - America's first licensed psilocybin service center - opened in June, marking Oregon's unprecedented step in offering the mind-bending drug to the public. The center now has a waitlist of more than 3,000 names, including people with depression, PTSD or end-of-life dread.

No prescription or referral is needed, but proponents hope Oregon's legalization will spark a revolution in mental health care. Clients do not need to live in Oregon to access psilocybin services but must be 21 years of age or older, said the state's Oregon Psilocybin Services. A preparation session must be completed with a licensed facilitator, the agency said.

It isn't known how Cpt Emerson obtained his 'shrooms, but it looks like, had he chosen, he could have swung by the legal dispensary in Eugene to participate in this revolution in mental health care. After all, 'shrooms are said to be remarkably helpful for, among others, those suffering from depression. Perhaps Edwards hadn't availed himself of the preparation session with a licensed facilitator. (Hey, how do you get that job?)

This is a front-burner issue for Robert Kennedy Jr:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the 2024 Democratic presidential legacy candidate with what may be the most famous last name in U.S. politics, says that he would legalize psychedelics and marijuana if elected to the White House – a promise that may surely get him support from psychedelic drug advocates in the United States. He also expressed his intent to federally tax both substances and use the revenue to create “healing centers” in rural areas for the millions of U.S. citizens who suffer from drug addiction. These healing centers would serve as a therapeutic tool for people recovering from substance abuse, where they could learn organic farming and heal physically, spiritually and emotionally[.]

Just get the meth heads on 'shrooms. That'll fix everything. It sounds to me as though the airline industry still needs a wakeup call, but the libertarians and others who want to legalize psychedelics at minimum are living in a dream world. It would be sad if a real crash had to raise this issue, rather than a close call.