Jump seat pilot tries to shut down engines in-flight?
Whatever the response to this, I hope the value of having a jumpseat rider is weighed in to the final decision. I’ve been a jump seater with electrical system issues and the crew put me to work as a third set of eyes with reduced instrumentation. On the other end, I’ve sent a jump seater back to look at the wing to verify what the EICAS was telling us was accurate.
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Lone Wolf, most airlines do background checks and back in the day, 4-5 interviews and assessments. I am unaware of any FA sabotaging pilots or attempting to bring down an aircraft. There’s a few incidents of pilots trying to takie down or attempting to take down a flight. I can think of two events top of mind. I believe there was a cargo flight with a pilot pax who acted out. Another was a non-US pilot who was being escorted back to base. . I know you know these, you’ve been around for quite awhile. FAs take the safety of our passengers and crew the top priority.
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what was the eicas for the wing?
Whatever the response to this, I hope the value of having a jumpseat rider is weighed in to the final decision. I’ve been a jump seater with electrical system issues and the crew put me to work as a third set of eyes with reduced instrumentation. On the other end, I’ve sent a jump seater back to look at the wing to verify what the EICAS was telling us was accurate.
If he'd wanted to sleep, he'd have gone down the back. Having a bad reaction to taking something off the books might lower the severity of the multiple lists of charges X 83 that he seems to be faced with. Entering a dream state and physically acting it out is a reality - one of the side effects of some new antidepressants. This kind of surprise is exactly why aircrew shouldn't 'just try this or that'.
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KGW8 Portland News
PORTLAND, Ore. — The off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot accused of attempting to shut down the engines on a plane midflight also allegedly attempted to open an emergency door after he was removed from the cockpit. He warned flight attendants at one point that they should handcuff him, and later said that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms, according to a federal affidavit filed Tuesday.When police interviewed 44-year-old Joseph Emerson after the plane was diverted to Portland on Sunday, he told them he thought he was having a "nervous breakdown" and had not slept in 40 hours. He denied taking any medication, according to the affidavit, but told police he became depressed six months ago and talked to an officer about the use of psychedelic mushrooms, stating that it was his first time taking mushrooms.
"I didn't feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren't paying attention to what was going on. They didn't... it didn't seem right," Emerson told police, according to the court documents. He later added "I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up."
Alaska Airlines said Emerson had been riding in the cockpit jumpseat on a flight from Everett to San Francisco Sunday when he attempted to activate the fire suppression systems in both engines, which would have caused them to shut down. The plane's two pilots prevented him from doing so, and he was subdued and removed from the cockpit. Emerson was arrested after the flight landed at Portland International Airport.
According to a probable cause affidavit written by an FBI special agent based on interviews with the two on-duty pilots, Emerson gave no initial indication that anything was wrong during the first half of the flight, and engaged the two in casual conversation about types of aircraft and the weather.
When the plane was about halfway between Astoria and Portland, Emerson said "I'm not okay," and one of the pilots saw him throw his headset across the cockpit, then reach up and pull the two red handles that would activate the fire suppression system.
One of the pilots grabbed his wrist, while the other declared an in-flight emergency. Emerson resisted, wrestled with one of the pilots for about 30 seconds, then "quickly settled down," according to the affidavit.
The pilots asked Emerson to leave the cockpit and he agreed. The pilots then changed course to Portland.
Flight attendants who were interviewed told investigators that Emerson peacefully walked to the back of the plane after leaving the cockpit and told a flight attendant that he had "just got kicked out of the flight deck," then told another attendant "you need to cuff me right now it's going to be bad."
The flight attendants put him in handcuffs and seated him in a flight attendant seat at the back of the plane. During the descent into Portland, Emerson turned toward an emergency exit door and tried to grab the handle, but a flight attendant grabbed his hands and stopped him. Flight attendants then tried to talk to him to distract him from trying to grab the handle again.
Another flight attendant said they heard Emerson say things like "I messed everything up" and that he "tried to kill everybody."
Emerson reportedly asked to waive his right to an attorney after he was arrested, telling police "I'm admitting to what I did. I'm not fighting any charges you want to bring against me, guys," according to the affidavit.
Emerson had pulled the red handles but had been unable to pull them down all the way due to wrestling with the other two pilots, and the system wasn't fully activated.
"If Emerson had successfully pulled the red engine shutoff handles down all the way, then it would have shut down the hydraulics and the fuel to the engines, turning the aircraft into a glider within seconds," according to the affidavit.
Emerson is scheduled to make an appearance in state court at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot accused of attempting to shut down the engines on a plane midflight also allegedly attempted to open an emergency door after he was removed from the cockpit. He warned flight attendants at one point that they should handcuff him, and later said that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms, according to a federal affidavit filed Tuesday.When police interviewed 44-year-old Joseph Emerson after the plane was diverted to Portland on Sunday, he told them he thought he was having a "nervous breakdown" and had not slept in 40 hours. He denied taking any medication, according to the affidavit, but told police he became depressed six months ago and talked to an officer about the use of psychedelic mushrooms, stating that it was his first time taking mushrooms.
"I didn't feel okay. It seemed like the pilots weren't paying attention to what was going on. They didn't... it didn't seem right," Emerson told police, according to the court documents. He later added "I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up."
Alaska Airlines said Emerson had been riding in the cockpit jumpseat on a flight from Everett to San Francisco Sunday when he attempted to activate the fire suppression systems in both engines, which would have caused them to shut down. The plane's two pilots prevented him from doing so, and he was subdued and removed from the cockpit. Emerson was arrested after the flight landed at Portland International Airport.
According to a probable cause affidavit written by an FBI special agent based on interviews with the two on-duty pilots, Emerson gave no initial indication that anything was wrong during the first half of the flight, and engaged the two in casual conversation about types of aircraft and the weather.
When the plane was about halfway between Astoria and Portland, Emerson said "I'm not okay," and one of the pilots saw him throw his headset across the cockpit, then reach up and pull the two red handles that would activate the fire suppression system.
One of the pilots grabbed his wrist, while the other declared an in-flight emergency. Emerson resisted, wrestled with one of the pilots for about 30 seconds, then "quickly settled down," according to the affidavit.
The pilots asked Emerson to leave the cockpit and he agreed. The pilots then changed course to Portland.
Flight attendants who were interviewed told investigators that Emerson peacefully walked to the back of the plane after leaving the cockpit and told a flight attendant that he had "just got kicked out of the flight deck," then told another attendant "you need to cuff me right now it's going to be bad."
The flight attendants put him in handcuffs and seated him in a flight attendant seat at the back of the plane. During the descent into Portland, Emerson turned toward an emergency exit door and tried to grab the handle, but a flight attendant grabbed his hands and stopped him. Flight attendants then tried to talk to him to distract him from trying to grab the handle again.
Another flight attendant said they heard Emerson say things like "I messed everything up" and that he "tried to kill everybody."
Emerson reportedly asked to waive his right to an attorney after he was arrested, telling police "I'm admitting to what I did. I'm not fighting any charges you want to bring against me, guys," according to the affidavit.
Emerson had pulled the red handles but had been unable to pull them down all the way due to wrestling with the other two pilots, and the system wasn't fully activated.
"If Emerson had successfully pulled the red engine shutoff handles down all the way, then it would have shut down the hydraulics and the fuel to the engines, turning the aircraft into a glider within seconds," according to the affidavit.
Emerson is scheduled to make an appearance in state court at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
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While in custody, Emerson told a police officer he became depressed about six months ago, according to an affidavit authored by an FBI agent and included alongside the federal complaint. Emerson denied taking any medications, the affidavit says, but he did discuss psychedelic mushrooms with the responding officer.
“The officer and Emerson talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first-time taking mushrooms,”
Psilocybin mushrooms generally won’t show up on a 5-panel test. Same goes for 8-, 10-, and 12-panel tests.
“The officer and Emerson talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first-time taking mushrooms,”
Psilocybin mushrooms generally won’t show up on a 5-panel test. Same goes for 8-, 10-, and 12-panel tests.
Last edited by hunbet; 24th Oct 2023 at 20:49. Reason: spelling
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While in custody, Emerson told a police officer he became depressed about six months ago, according to an affidavit authored by an FBI agent and included alongside the federal complaint. Emerson denied taking any medications, the affidavit says, but he did discuss psychedelic mushrooms with the responding officer.
“The officer and Emerson talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first-time taking mushrooms,”
Psilocybin mushrooms generally won’t show up on a 5-panel test. Same goes for 8-, 10-, and 12-panel tests.
“The officer and Emerson talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first-time taking mushrooms,”
Psilocybin mushrooms generally won’t show up on a 5-panel test. Same goes for 8-, 10-, and 12-panel tests.
I would have to call into question the judgement of any ATP making such a questionable decision to do this, and do so in such a seemingly unprepared and cavalier manner.
That alone makes me think this guy was a goofball and and probably an accident/incident waiting to happen.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/u...smid=url-share
Not sleeping for 40 hours straight is in itself probably enough to make you hallucinate.
In an interview with the police, the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot also said he thought he was having a nervous breakdown and had not slept for more than 40 hours, according to a criminal complaint...“I didn’t feel OK,” he told the police, according to the federal complaint. “It seemed like the pilots weren’t paying attention to what was going on.”
He also told the police, according to the complaint, “I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.”
…An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut off the engines during a flight on Sunday told investigators that he had been sleepless and dehydrated since he consumed psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before boarding and that he had been depressed for a long time, state and federal court documents said.
He also told the police, according to the complaint, “I pulled both emergency shut off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.”
…An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut off the engines during a flight on Sunday told investigators that he had been sleepless and dehydrated since he consumed psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before boarding and that he had been depressed for a long time, state and federal court documents said.
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https://nypost.com/2023/10/24/news/c...s-flight-feds/
"Even while restrained, Emerson tried to open the emergency doors on the Alaskan flight, which was being operated by Horizon Air, as the pilots frantically guided the craft to the ground."
"Although the affidavit doesn’t state whether Emerson was under the influence of the mushrooms while on the plane, he later added: “I pulled both emergency shut-off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.”
"Even while restrained, Emerson tried to open the emergency doors on the Alaskan flight, which was being operated by Horizon Air, as the pilots frantically guided the craft to the ground."
"Although the affidavit doesn’t state whether Emerson was under the influence of the mushrooms while on the plane, he later added: “I pulled both emergency shut-off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.”
A drastic way to cry for help. The video by Juan Brown posted by Chiefttp expands the initial reports with a bit more background. The holes in the swiss cheese should have been spotted a lot earlier, before the lives of the rest of the craft were endangered.