Joseph Emerson, the former Alaska Airlines pilot at the center of the Horizon Air Flight 2059 incident, has entered a guilty plea in federal court and reached a deal in state court that brings this long-running case closer to resolution and helps to avoid an extended prison sentence.
Joseph Emerson Pleads Guilty In Federal Case, Reaches State Deal After In-Flight Engine Shutdown Attempt
On September 5, 2025, Emerson pleaded guilty in federal court to a single count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. In Oregon state court, he will plead no contest to one count of endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of reckless endangerment, reflecting every person aboard the flight. The expected outcome includes up to one year in federal custody (though statutorily, he may be given up to a 20-year sentence) and, in the state case, 50 days in jail (which he has already served), five years of probation, 664 hours of community service, $60,569 in restitution, and continued mental health and substance evaluations. He must also avoid unauthorized proximity to aircraft. Sentencing in the federal case is scheduled for November 17, 2025.
What Led To The Incident
The incident occurred on October 22, 2023, when Emerson, riding in the cockpit jump seat on Horizon Air Flight 2059 from Everett (PAE) to San Francisco (SFO), pulled both fuel shutoff “T-handle” levers, a move that could have resulted in dual engine flameout. The flight crew quickly reset the handles, removed him from the cockpit, and diverted safely to Portland (PDX). Emerson later told investigators he had not slept for more than 40 hours, was grieving a friend’s death, and had taken psychedelic mushrooms for the first time. He said he thought he was dreaming and was trying to wake up.
The Human Side Of The Story
As I have written before, Emerson has expressed deep remorse, calling it “thirty seconds of my life I wish I could change.” He has accepted responsibility for the choices that led to that moment and has spoken about the stigma that still surrounds pilot mental health, particularly when treatment can jeopardize a medical certificate.
This case continues to highlight gaps in how the industry addresses mental health and cockpit access. Pilots should not feel compelled to self-medicate or suffer in silence. Meaningful support systems, paired with clear pathways to seek help without automatic loss of livelihood, remain essential.
> Read More: Joseph Emerson Tells His Side Of The Story | Trial Preview And Context | Ongoing Coverage
CONCLUSION
Emerson’s plea brings accountability and closure for many who were impacted, while underscoring the need for better pathways to care. The aviation community should take this as an opportunity to strengthen support for pilots before a moment of crisis ever occurs. I also recognize that recommending is one thing and actaully doing it is a much more difficult matter.
image: KOMO News pool photo
He didn’t “accept responsibility”, he made a deal to stay out of jail….and a typical liberal, west coast activist judge allowed it. I guess they would have been happier if he succeeded at cutting off the engines. The only victims here are the passengers who came within an inch of their lives.
Yep, this is the usual outcome across a wide range of offenses.
Confirmation bias much?
An apparent “bias” would be the legal system which recklessly accepts the fiction of criminals needing mental health group therapy .
If any aviation employee is tolerant towards any drug use , the solution is immediate disqualification in the first place.
I could say a lot more since I work in the field, but I’ll use the Keanu Reeves line instead. You’re right, 1+1 =5. Have fun.
He was a “druggie” , without concern for others . Ordinary “druggie” or “pothead” who ought never been a pilot .
“Druggies” Never accept responsibility for any behaviour . That is reason for them to be on a “do Not hire list” .
By Emerson’s own admission he was a drunk first. He credits his now found sobriety as saving his life. Try to stop pushing the maga troll drug agenda and have an original thought on the NINE useless comments today!
Yep, OR, WA and CA should be given to Canada for some maple syrup.
These places are truly lost to decent society forever.
I don’t get the outrage. He ruined his career – he will never fly again. Isn’t that punishment enough? What good is jail going to do him in becoming a producive member of society again?
And you say you are still a “conservative”. Living in California, that legal degree and foreign wife of yours has made you as liberal as Paul Ryan.
Common on, Dave Edward’s – the personal attacks on Matt are not necessary.
And when it comes to commercial pilots, I will have you know that SQ, BA and LY have some of the finest pilots in the world. Two of these carriers are not from western nations.
America is a great country, but your opinion that everything American is the greatest is misplaced.
Wasn’t a personal attack on Matt at all unless you think calling someone a liberal is an attack. Trust me, you’ll know an attack from me when you it.
Douchebag Dave Edwards, you may think you’re a human being, but by all evidence here, you are a SHPOS (subhuman piece of sh*t). We can only hope that ICE will catch up with you someday and deport you back to whatever rock you crawled out from.
@Matthew …, “productive member of society AGAIN” ? Do Not assume he was ever other than a “druggie” .
“Druggies” know themselves they are Not productive members of society , and Cannot be in any future dreamworld .
They know themselves to be hopeless .
“He ruined his career – he will never fly again. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
No, it’s not enough, in my opinion. He attempted to murder a plane full of people. The fact that he didn’t succeed doesn’t make this a “no harm, no foul” situation. Attempting a mass murder should get more than a year in prison.
@Mr.Marcus … Well said .
Exactly. I’m surprised Matthew can’t see that. What if his family had been on that flight?
The guy almost killed the better part of a hundred people. No prison seems pretty light to me.
The paradox is that those who seek out mental health care are stigmatized for doing so. There should be confidential mental health care made available for pilots but also safeguards in place that if imminent danger is at hand, the providers will reach out but aside from that, they need the care.
This incident, though, makes me think of the dangers of deadheading in the jump seat. What’s the point of saving a seat in the general area by having non-working people hang out in the cockpit? NOBODY should be there who isn’t actually working.
I feel bad for the guy but he did what he did. I can see why pilots often have jumbo (pun intended) size egos considering the immense scrutiny they’re under. It takes significant commitment, time, money, and willpower to become a commercial airlines pilot so they deserve the respect they earn. Only medical doctors (with actual American degrees) are as highly educated and credentialed.
I was thinking it would make a lot of sense for airlines to come up with a strategy for managing these invaluable assets to keep them healthy and happy: Special airport escort PA’s to handle their coffee and logistics, get them to the airport for their layover, safe activities to destress between flights, and so on. Set up special “pilot areas” in airports and regions for the pilots of ALL carriers to relax between their flights. Perhaps even a section of the airport. Spas, foot massages, you name it! Think of all the lives that would be saved!
For all the endless hand wringing around manufacturing defects at Boeing or ATC short staffing and aging technology, it is hard to look at the last decade of aviation and not realize that the biggest danger flyers face is suicidal pilots. Almost without question, they are responsible for more aviation deaths than any other cause.
@Doug – I concur.
Note these were all foreigners.
Hopefully it stays that way.
Another reason to NOT fly airlines that hire non Americans for many reasons. And now that it’s harder to come here to live we are going to see more of this unfortunately.
Be safe than sorry…..avoid 3rd world pilots!
Does “Joseph David Emerson” really sound like a “3rd world” name?
He needs to do something to hijack the discussion thread…
JDE wasn’t responsible for any deaths, which is the metric under discussion here.
He deserves what’s happening to him. He lost his entire career as well. As for the safety of flight, it sounds like he may have had a knee jerk reaction to something and yeah, taking mushrooms and jump seating deserves some harsh penalty. If the handles would have been pulled and engines flamed out….they would have been easily and instantly restarted… only way the engines would have remained off is if the fire squibs were activated which would have required a twist of the handle.
There is no guarantee that amidst the chaos that the operating crew would have reacted properly though. How many accidents involved factors that could have been overcome had the crew just responded appropriately? The engines could have been shut off, the pilots could have been engaged in a fight while simultaneously trying to quickly figure out what to do. Add in adrenaline and shock to the mix and the outcome still may resulted in loss of life. I don’t think minimizing this clowns actions is fair. He deserves nothing short of a very long time in prison.
@Chris … And ought not to have been hired by any airline , in the first place .
We don’t need “druggies” and “pot-heads” anywhere near aircraft .
This is very reassuring. I didn’t realize that he needed to twist those handles in order to kill everyone. Sounds like he still had a lot of work to do turn this into a tragedy. So, this really wasn’t a safety issue, just a tasteless prank.
His only options should have been legal injection, firing squad, electric chair or 10 years at Aaron’s house.
He will be paying restitution, which is a lot more than nearly all convicts do. Very good. Calculate those days served and release him now or soon.
The criminal justice system rarely has restitution, but should. True, rape, murder, assault, kidnapping are hard to put a dollar amount but prosecutors don’t even try.
He’s paying 60 grand. You know how much AS pilots make? He can afford it. Most people can come up with that somehow if they really had to.
Emerson said he struggled with alcohol, depression and sleep prior to the use the mushrooms. I wish I could understand why he would choose to continue forward as a pilot knowing he was so impaired.
Keeping distant from any aircraft is an important part of this punishment.
Because like a lot of them, he was arrogant, had a God complex and was addicted to the money.
No, I have read the full story of the pilot. He was absolutely in love with flying since he was a child. He was afraid to announce his mental issues since it would mean stop flying. He was automedicating and some of the meds had terrible reaction with the mushrooms he took (he was not supposed to fly for few days to go, he was in a jumpseat). Very sad case altogether.
I see you read the puff-piece “poor me” story that his attorney put out. Looks like it had the desired effect on you. He attempted to kill a plane full of people. He failed and now it’s time to do anything he can to avoiding the consequences.
@Chris … Well said .
So somehow a pathologic and overwhelmingly selfish obsession with flying somehow makes this more understandable?
This explanation is so flimsy– first a person doesn’t have to be a commercial pilot in order to fly a plane– there were infinite ways for this guy to get help and have a productive life and he chose not to take those paths. Then to believe this twisted theory we have to suspend the idea that a commercial pilot is required to put the safety of others over his or her desire to fly the plane. We also have to forget that this man is a father and a spouse, when you become either of those things you take on a responsibility that exceeds your little kids dream to be the guy with the yoke in the pointy end of the plane. And we haven’t even got to the (at least) 83 other folks whose lives he attempted to end, I’m sure they all had dreams too.
This is a guy whose main love in October 2023 wasn’t flying, it was booze, drugs, and benders.
Propping up a theory that this event was a predictable and normal consequence of understandably combining psychedelic mushrooms with medications does not help this man take accountability for his actions. Taking accountability away from someone who has done something that is very wrong is a disservice to that person, and a disservice to us all.
Show the poor man some pity, he was on a 737, enough to cause irrational behaviour in anyone.
Douchebag Dave Edwards: 5 comments on this thread alone, over 25 comments in the past few days, you really don’t have anything better to do with your pathetic empty life than comment here. Maybe you’re locked up in prison, and this is your only means of communication with the rest of the world.
He’s wearing that pink shirt. That can only mean he gets passed around the prison yard like the syphilitic floozy that he is.
Now Aaron is jealous and on his way to buy some mushrooms in his pink shirt. Then he will research the state with the most black inmates.
Every accusation from you is a confession lol
Again with Dave “Braying Donkey” Edwards making his hilarious gay jokes. There are three types of people who behave like this – the juvenile teenage boy who does not yet know he’s a man, the religious fanatic who hates gays ‘cause da bible, and the self-loathing closet homosexual who thinks he’s deflecting attention from himself. Which category do you fit into? I’ll wager it’s a solid three, with perhaps a splash of two for good measure. Give it up, mate, Nobody wants to do you.
Making magic mushrooms legal in California and Wash state is not helping anyone… Pilots should not do drugs within 4 days of flying or ever esp the mushrooms no one knows what they can do to do … there are no real dosing guidelines………………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Expert evidence stated that the intoxicants would have been cleared from his system within 24 hours., so the problem is more complex than people seem to think.
He obviously hired an excellent attorney. Good on him. The initial 83 charges of attempted murder were absolutely laughably stupid and had zero chance of ever seeing the inside of a courtroom.
The prosecution almost certainly accepted the plea because they realised that a jury may have been very sympathetic toward a defendant, and his attorney obviously had a bigger pair than any of the soft-cocks from the prosecutors office.
Ex-friend of mine is an AA pilot and knows he needs therapy (or something) but will lose his license if he tries it. He’s also a borderline narcoleptic. I just hope I don’t end up on one of his flights because he’d probably be happy to take me down with him.
According to the FAA, Joseph David Emerson, a resident of California, no longer has a valid medical AND his pilot certificates have been revoked.