An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut down engines mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane in October was indicted by a grand jury on 84 charges, prosecutors said.

An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut down engines mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane in October was indicted on 84 charges – though the grand jury declined to go for attempted murder.

Joseph David Emerson, 44, was charged with one count of endangering aircraft in the first degree and 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person in connection with the Oct. 22 incident, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

He is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland, Oregon, and is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.

    • Chainweasel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      703·
      1 year ago

      According to the off-duty pilot that tried to crash the plane, it was the shrooms he ate a week or so beforehand that made him want to do it.
      Now, I don’t know if You’ve ever tried psilocybin before, but that’s not how any of that works.

      • Nougat@kbin.social
        281·
        1 year ago

        They also said he had taken “a small amount of psilocybin,” which is found in mushrooms, two days prior to the flight.

        Not that that necessarily changes the “that’s not how any of that works” part, but it wasn’t “a week or so.”

    • ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      34·
      1 year ago

      He hadn’t slept for 40hrs. Sleep deprivation to that extent is much more likely than the mushroom to be the “cause”.

    • Lekip@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      21·
      1 year ago

      Besides the shrooms and sleep deprivation; many pilots do not report depression or seek therapy out of fear of being grounded. This, obviously, can lead to severe mental health problems. Not sure if that was a factor in this case, however.

      • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
        13·
        1 year ago

        I’ve heard this as well. Even seeking therapy will get your license taken away. Admitting to smoking weed even once in your life will get your license taken away. Those kinds of regulations lead to pilots hiding their substance abuse and mental health issues. They can’t get help for the little issues, so they become big issues.