I wonder what the motive was. That’s a very strange way to go to prison forever
It could be something like FedEx 705. Basically what happened was that a deadheading pilot attempted to hijack the plane to intentionally crash it so his family would get the life insurance money because he was about to be fired for lying about his flight hours.
I looked his name up and there’s nothing outside of this incident. It’s hard to tell. I sat next to one of those nutty, extreme Christians that was a pilot. The crew came over and gave him a job application. I checked immediately if it was him, that dude was intense.
Edit: I should add that there was no way that the airline would know, only sitting next to him and seeing him interact with his kids would show it.
It’s pretty scary what extremists actually believe.
Some excerpts from the criminal complaint make it appear he has a dissociative episode from being awake 40+ hours.
These were from statements made by the pilots and flight attendants. It doesn’t sound like he wanted to kill himself or others. He stated that he felt like he was dreaming and wanted to “wake up.”
I’ve also since heard some mention of psychedelic mushrooms, but it wasn’t clear if he was on them at the time
The complaint says he and Portland PD talked about magic mushrooms and that he said it was his “first time” taking them. But it did not mention the time frame.
If he took them at the start of his 40+ hour wake period, they would have been out of his system. But again, it didn’t specify when he took them. Regardless, it seems he did not act with malicious intent or full awareness of the situation. Particularly when the complaint said that when he put his hands on the emergency exit door the flight attendant placed her hands on his and talked to him to distract him. The “fight” that happened when he first tried to pull the fire suppression lasted 25-30 seconds and he left when “asked” to. He wasn’t dragged out of the cockpit.
On the news it mentioned he had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms two days before he did this. Not sure why they mentioned that since mushrooms don’t last anywhere near that long.
They’re trying to make sure people feel safe flying, regardless of his intentions.
It kind of seems like he had a mental breakdown and there was no intention. He took mushrooms because of major depression he had recently. He told people on the flight that he needed to be restrained. From another article:
After “peacefully walking to the back of the plane,” the affidavit says Emerson told a flight attendant, “You need to cuff me right now or it’s going to be bad.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/us/alaska-airlines-disruption-off-duty-pilot-tuesday/index.html
Please people. If your going to kill yourself. Make it just yourself.
This was a domestic terrorist act, not a suicide. If he had a foreign sounding name, this would be considered in the press differently.
And what evidence do you have to support that claim? You don’t know this person’s motivations. You’re making assumptions here too.
Would you question it if he had a foreign sounding name? Also, if it was something like suicide or something, we would have heard about it by now.
Here’s why making assumptions about someone’s motivations less than 24 hours from an event is misguided at best: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/us/alaska-airlines-off-duty-pilot-arraignment.html
Still want to claim this was deliberate terrorism?
Meh, you go with the odds.
Would you question it if he had a foreign sounding name?
That’s irrelevant. This isn’t a race/nationality thing yet for some reason you feel the need to make it one.
Also, if it was something like suicide or something, we would have heard about it by now.
It has been less than 24 hours. How in the world would we have known this person’s full intentions by now?
Article from the Portland Business Journal
Alaska Airlines says pilot arrested after attempting to stop engines midflight By Christopher Bjorke – Digital Producer/Associate Editor, Portland Business Journal Oct 23, 2023
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot was arrested at the Port of Portland Monday after the airline says he attempted to shut down a plane’s engines during a flight between Everett and San Francisco.
Joseph Emerson, 44, faces 83 counts of attempted murder and reckless endangerment and endangering an aircraft, Business Journal media partner KGW-TV reported.
Alaska Airlines said a pilot traveling in the jump seat of the plane’s flight deck “unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines.” The pilot and first officer subdued the man and diverted the flight to Portland International Airport.
Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 was operated by Horizon Air.
“We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event,” Alaska Airlines said.
Here is Alaska’s full statement on the incident, posted on its website Monday morning.
On Oct. 22, Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 operated by Horizon Air from Everett, WA (PAE) to San Francisco, CA (SFO) reported a credible security threat related to an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who was traveling in the flight deck jump seat. The jump seat occupant unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines. The Horizon Captain and First Officer quickly responded, engine power was not lost and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.
Following appropriate FAA procedures and guidance from Air Traffic Control, the flight was safely diverted to Portland International Airport. The jump seat occupant is currently in custody and the event is being investigated by law enforcement authorities, which includes the FBI and the Port of Portland Police Department.
All passengers on board were able to travel on a later flight. We are grateful for the professional handling of the situation by the Horizon flight crew and appreciate our guests’ calm and patience throughout this event.
