PORTLAND, Ore. — An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to cut the engines of a plane bound for San Francisco in October will face less serious charges in state court than prosecutors originally sought. Prosecutors announced the updated charges against Joseph Emerson, 44, after a Multnomah County grand jury returned its indictment.
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney's office, a grand jury indicted Emerson on 83 misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and one felony count of endangering an aircraft in the first degree. The charges stem from the Oct. 22 incident aboard Horizon Air Flight 2059, which was diverted to the Portland International Airport after investigators said Emerson tried to disable the aircraft's engines mid-flight. He was off-duty at the time but was riding in the cockpit jump seat.
RELATED: Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut plane's engines appears in court on federal charges
The charges are considerably less severe than those upon which Emerson was originally arraigned. On the initial charging documents, Emerson faced 83 counts of second-degree attempted murder — one for each passenger and crew member on the plane — in addition to the first-degree endangering aircraft charge. While he still faces just as many counts, attempted murder is a Measure 11 crime in Oregon and comes with a minimum sentence of 7 years and 6 months in prison.
"The attempted murder charges were never appropriate in this case because Captain Emerson never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk — he just wanted to return home to his wife and children," Emerson's defense attorneys at Levi Merrithew Horst said in a statement on Tuesday. "Captain Emerson thought he was in a dream; his actions were taken in a single-minded effort to wake up from that dream and return home to his family."
Emerson still faces separate charges in federal court.
According to court documents in the federal case, Emerson told police after his arrest that he thought he was having a "nervous breakdown" and had not slept in 40 hours. He told police he became depressed about six months prior to the incident, and he'd been experiencing intense feelings of derealization since taking psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before the flight.
"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 a federal affidavit. He later added, "I pulled both emergency shut-off handles because I thought I was dreaming, and I just wanna wake up."
Emerson's case has highlighted an ongoing problem with mental health in aviation. Because certain mental health diagnoses can result in a pilot being grounded for extended lengths of time by federal regulators, experts say there continues to be a chilling effect on pilots' willingness to seek help.
In their statement on Tuesday, Emerson's attorneys said they were disappointed to learn that the grand jury decided to indict him on 84 counts in the case, gesturing toward the lower standard of evidence required in grand jury proceedings than in a trial.
"While we believe the Multnomah County District Attorney's office treated Mr. Emerson fairly, we do not know why the grand jury arrived at its charging decision, nor have we had an opportunity to examine all the evidence the district attorney ultimately presented to the grand jury," they said. "Captain Emerson had no criminal intent, and we look forward to being able to present a fulsome defense at trial and bring forth all the facts and circumstances to a jury."
Federal prosecutors have charged Emerson by criminal complaint with one count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants, which can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Emerson remains in custody in Multnomah County.