EVERETT, Wash. — An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to cut the engines of a jet mid-flight appeared for the first time in federal court in Portland on Thursday afternoon.
Joseph David Emerson, 44, faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew, filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland. Emerson also faces 83 counts of attempted murder for the 83 other people on the flight. He pleaded not guilty to those charges on Tuesday.
According to Special Agent Kieran Ramsay, who is in charge of the FBI for the state of Oregon, said this was Emerson's initial appearance in court. He said there will be another arraignment scheduled and court proceedings to follow.
"What's important here is to recognize how serious of an incident this was, the consequences of what could have happened. and the fact is that these are very serious charges," Ramsay said.
He said the FBI is working with local, county and state partners "to make sure that we fully investigate what happened and ultimately hold him accountable for his conduct."
Emerson was arrested on Sunday night after a Horizon Air flight crew reported that he attempted to shut down the plane's engines while riding in the extra seat in the cockpit while he was off duty.
Ethan Levi, Emerson's attorney, also spoke to Portland sister station KGW after the arraignment, reiterating that Emerson had no intention to harm himself or anybody on the plane.
"I want to just express from Joe to the flight crew that he is grateful for their timely and heroic actions," Levi said. "They were very understanding."
Emerson's wife also spoke off-camera to KGW, saying, "this is not my Joe or the Joe anyone knows."
Two pilots on the flight from Everett's Paine Field to San Francisco told police that before the incident, Emerson had a casual conversation with them about aircraft types. The pilot who was flying the aircraft told police there was "zero indication of anything wrong," according to the federal affidavit.
About halfway between Astoria, Ore. and Portland, Ore., one pilot said Emerson threw his headset across the cockpit and said, "I'm not OK," before grabbing the red fire handles and pulling them down partway. The handles activate the system used to put out aircraft engine fires. It would also shut off the fuel supply to the engines and turn the airplane into a "glider" in seconds, according to the affidavit.
After he was arrested in Oregon, Emerson told police that he had not slept in 40 hours and had taken psychedelic mushrooms 48 hours before the flight.
When asked about how Emerson was doing mentally now, Levi spoke about his improvement.
"[He's] much better now than he was a few days ago," Levi said. "He's doing great."