The latest headlines from our reporters in the USA are sent directly to your inbox every weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from the USA
Your briefing on the latest headlines from the USA
The retired pilot who attempted to shut down a plane’s engines mid-flight after taking psychoactive mushrooms says his marriage has improved since the incident and he hopes to fly again one day.
Joseph Emerson, 44, spoke about the incident last October and took responsibility for his “unbelievable” actions, but said he hoped sharing his story would help stimulate discussion about pilot mental health.
In the October 22 incident, Emerson was sitting in the jump seat in the cockpit during a flight from Seattle to San Francisco and allegedly attempted to shut down the plane’s engines by pulling the engine ignition levers.
He later attempted to pull an emergency exit lever, but was stopped by flight crew and eventually detained. Emerson was charged with 84 counts in connection with the incident, but managed to avoid an attempted murder indictment by a grand jury.
In a new interview with ABC News, she recalled feeling “trapped” and that “nothing felt real” after taking magic mushrooms several days earlier to cope with her depression.
“I did something unfathomable… something I have to take responsibility for and regret,” Emerson told the outlet. “I felt trapped, like, ‘Am I trapped on this plane? This isn’t real. I need to wake up.'”
Emerson said he had been struggling with the death of his best friend Scott, a pilot who had died on a flight six years earlier. Emerson had gone away for the weekend with friends to celebrate and remember Scott and took psychedelic mushrooms.
After leaving the cockpit and being prevented by a flight attendant from pulling another emergency lever, he told the woman, “I don’t know what is true, you have to put hard handcuffs on me,” he said.
Emerson will tell his story in a new documentary: The New York Times presents: Lie To Fly. He hopes that his commitment will help raise awareness of the stresses of being a pilot and improve safety practices.
“Right now, it’s not always the case that if you raise your hand and say something is wrong, there’s a high probability that you’ll never fly again,” Emerson told ABC.
He also stresses that his relationship with his wife and children has improved. The couple has started a new non-profit organization, Clear Skies Ahead, which aims to raise funds and awareness for pilot mental health.
“I’m doing my best to go through this process right now and I’m getting better. It might be a little weird, but I’m really getting better through all of this. I wouldn’t have planned it this way, but I’m doing my best,” he said.
Emerson is not allowed to fly or leave the state because the charges against him are pending, but he says he would like to fly again if given the opportunity.
“Of course I want to fly again. It would be completely disingenuous if I said no,” he told ABC.. “I don’t know in what capacity I will fly again and I don’t know if I will be given that opportunity. It’s not up to me to arrange that.
“It’s up to me to do what’s in front of me, to put myself in a position where this is a possibility, that it can happen… But at the end of the day, if I’m not meant to fly again, I’m not going to fly again.”
