Alaska Airlines Pilot Tried to Shut Off Plane Mid-Flight, Then Gave a Shocking Reason — and He Just Pleaded Guilty By Nicole Acosta

A now-former Alaska Airlines pilot who was accused of trying to sabotage a flight while riding as a passenger in 2023 has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

Joseph D. Emerson, 46, pleaded guilty on Friday, Sept. 5, to one felony count of interference with flight crew members and attendants and also agreed to waive a grand jury indictment, according to the plea agreement obtained by PEOPLE.

The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17, records show.

According to prosecutors, Emerson was sitting in the cockpit’s jump seat during a flight from Seattle to San Francisco on Oct. 22, 2023, and allegedly attempted to shut off the plane’s engines by pulling the engine fire handles. (The flight was operated by Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines.)

The move came after he allegedly threw his headset across the cockpit and declared, “I am not okay,” per a criminal complaint previously obtained by PEOPLE.

Emerson was restrained by flight attendants and moved to the back of the plane, preventing any further attempts to sabotage the aircraft. The flight was rerouted to Portland, where it landed safely and Emerson was taken into custody.

During questioning, Emerson said that he experienced a severe mental breakdown during the flight after being sleep-deprived and ingesting psychedelic mushrooms two days prior, leading him to attempt to disable the plane’s engines. He also claimed he thought he was dreaming during the incident and felt an overwhelming need to wake up.

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Emerson spoke out about the incident in an August 2024 interview on ABC’s Good Morning America. He explained he had trouble deciphering what reality was while on the drug, which he said he took after a weekend of remembering his late friend.

“What I thought is, ‘This is going to wake me up,’” Emerson said, per ABC. “’I know what those levers do in a real airplane and I need to wake up from this.’ You know, it’s 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can’t.”

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The New York Times documentary Lie to Fly, which premiered on FX and Hulu in August 2024, delves into Emerson’s story and the broader implications for airline safety and the mental health of pilots.

Emerson was also charged with 83 counts of endangering another person in Oregon, to which he plans to plead no contest, CNN reported. He previously pleaded not guilty and was released from custody in December 2023 pending trial.