Off-duty pilot who tried to cut a flight’s engines midair to be sentenced in federal case

A former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while riding off-duty in the cockpit is scheduled to appear for sentencing in federal court on Monday.

Joseph Emerson pleaded guilty or no contest to all charges in September as part of agreements with state and federal prosecutors. His attorney, Noah Horst, said at the time that he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and avoid spending more time behind bars.

In the federal case, prosecutors asked for a year in prison, while his lawyers asked for probation.

Emerson was subdued by flight crew after attempting to cut engines on a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Wash., to San Francisco on Oct. 22, 2023, while 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.

After his arrest, Emerson told police that he had been feeling despondent over the recent death of a friend, that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms about two days earlier, and had not slept for more than 40 hours. He said he thought he was dreaming at the time, and that he was trying to wake himself up by grabbing two red handles that would activate the plane’s fire suppression system and cut off fuel from its engines.

Emerson, of Pleasant Hill, California, was charged in federal court with interfering in the affairs of the 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 was released from custody awaiting trial in December 2023, with conditions to submit to mental health services, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and stay away from airplanes.

In September, he pleaded guilty to the federal charge and no contest to the state charges, which have the same legal effect as a guilty plea.

The state court sentenced him to 50 days in jail, with credit for time served, plus five years of probation, 664 hours of community service — eight hours for each person he puts at risk — and more than $60,000 in restitution, almost all of it to the Alaska Air Group.

Half of his community service can be done at Emerson’s pioneering health nonprofit, which he founded after his arrest. He must also undergo drug and alcohol evaluations and mental health treatment, refrain from using any non-prescription drugs, and maintain a distance of at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) from operable aircraft unless he has permission from his probation officer.

In a sentencing memorandum seeking a year in prison, federal prosecutors wrote: “No lives were lost that day except through the heroic actions of the flight crew, who were able to physically restrain the defendant and restore normal operations of the aircraft.”

However, a pre-sentencing report by federal probation officers recommended a prison sentence of three years of supervised release and six months of house arrest, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by Emerson’s attorneys.

In that memorandum, his lawyers asked for probation with credit for time spent in jail or home detention, arguing that the “aggressive” prosecution “led to a significant sentence.”

In state court in September, Emerson said he was grateful to the flight crew for restraining him and saving his life, along with the lives of everyone on board. He called it “the greatest gift I’ve ever been given,” even though he lost his career and ended up in prison, because it forced him to confront the challenges of his mental health and alcohol dependence.

“This difficult journey has made me a better father, a better husband, and a better member of my community,” he said.

The airline said other cabin crew members did not notice signs of weakness that would have prevented Emerson from entering the cockpit.

The averted disaster renewed interest in cockpit safety and the mental fitness of those permitted to enter it.