‘I’m not okay’: Alaska Airlines cockpit audio reveals moment off-duty pilot tried to shut down the aircraft engines
January 5, 2026
Cockpit recordings reveal the moment an off-duty airline pilot attempted to disable the engines of a passenger jet while travelling on the jumpseat.
The October 2023 incident involved a Horizon Air Embraer 175 operating from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco for Alaska Airlines.
The aircraft diverted to Portland after the flight crew restrained Joseph Emerson, a qualified pilot who was not operating the flight, following an attempt to activate the engine fire suppression system.
The aircraft landed safely, and no passengers were injured. Fresh details from the incident have been revealed through official audio recordings and police footage.
How the Alaska Airlines incident unfolded
Audio captured on the flight deck reveals a rapid escalation. Emerson, seated on the jumpseat because the cabin was full, told the operating crew he was “not okay” and expressed an urgent desire to return home.
Moments later, a struggle is audible as the pilots realised he was reaching for the fire handles – controls designed to cut fuel supply to the engines in the event of a fire.
One of the pilots immediately declared an emergency to air traffic control, requesting a diversion to Portland.
“It’s Horizon 2095. We got a jump seater, just tried to shut our engines off, we need to go direct to Portland, now,” one of the flightcrew is heard saying on the radio.
The crew managed to remove Emerson from the cockpit before any engine shutdown occurred.
Not including Emerson, there were 83 passengers and crew on board. Safety experts have highlighted that the outcome demonstrated the safety standards in modern flightdeck environments, including the presence of two pilots and well-rehearsed emergency response protocols.
Pilot said he tried to pull the handles to ‘wake up’
After landing, Emerson was taken into custody and questioned by police.
Video from the rear of a patrol car shows him struggling to understand the gravity of what had occurred.
He told officers he believed he was experiencing a nervous breakdown and later described feeling detached from reality.
Sitting in the back of the police vehicle, an officer asked Emerson, “Okay, man, what’s going on?” Emerson replied that he was “having a nervous breakdown” and added that he did not really know why. He went on to say, “I thought I was dreaming, man.”
The officer then asked whether he had been trying to kill himself. Emerson responded that he was “trying to wake up” because he did not feel that what was happening was real.
During subsequent interviews, Emerson admitted he had taken psilocybin mushrooms two days before the flight and had not slept for nearly 48 hours.
He later stated that he believed he was dreaming and that pulling the fire suppression handles would “wake him up.”
Investigators said there was no evidence he intended to crash the aircraft.
Alaska Airlines incident offers a stark warning about mental health
In early 2025, Emerson reached a plea agreement with federal and state authorities. He pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew, as well as no contest to multiple state charges related to endangering an aircraft and its occupants.
A federal judge sentenced him to time already served – 46 days in custody – along with three years of supervised release.
Emerson later said he had been grieving the death of a close friend and had turned to alcohol and, later, psychedelic drugs in an attempt to cope. According to his legal team, he suffers from a condition that can prolong the perceptual effects of hallucinogens.
Featured image: Johnnyw3 / Wikimedia Commons
