PORTLAND, Ore. — The off-duty pilot accused of trying to bring down an Alaska Airlines flight in October will be released from federal custody pending trial. As a condition of his release, Joseph Emerson can’t board an operable airplane, is forbidden from possessing psychedelic mushrooms and must undergo a mental health evaluation.
“He’s happy to be able to come home,” Sarah Stretch, Emerson’s wife said after Wednesday's hearing in federal court.
Emerson, 44, has been in custody since late October, after the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot allegedly tried to shut down a plane’s engines. The flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco made an emergency landing in Portland.
83 other passengers and crew were onboard.
“It’s a hard situation for a lot of people — not just for Joe, but for the people who were on the airplane, the pilots, for the flight attendants,” said Stretch.
On Thursday, Emerson will be arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit court, where he was initially charged with attempted murder. This week, a Multnomah County grand jury indicted him on less serious charges — a single felony count of endangering an aircraft and 83 misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. His defense argues, Emerson didn't intend to hurt anyone. Emerson had been struggling with depression and had taken psychedelic mushrooms two days before the incident. The defense claims the off-duty pilot thought he was in a dream.
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“He had this abnormal experience,” explained Ethan Levi, Emerson’s defense lawyer. “Now he’s perfectly normal, rational. He’s happy. He’s optimistic. It’s all very good.”
The indictment indicates the Multnomah County grand jury heard from 13 witnesses including the flight crew, Emerson and his wife. It’s highly unusual for a criminal defendant to testify before a grand jury.
If a Multnomah County Circuit court judge also allows Emerson to be released from jail pending trial, his wife plans to drive him back to their home in Northern California, according to his lawyer.