“We’ve got a jump seater”: Audio footage reveals moment Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson tried to shut down the engine of a plane with 84 people on board

Audio from the cockpit of the Horizon flight from 2023, when off-duty pilot Joseph Emerson attempted to cut off fuel to the engines, is now showing the chaos behind the scenes of the flight which was travelling from Everett, Washington to San Francisco, California. Emerson, a former Alaska Airlines pilot, was in a magic mushroom-induced frenzy on October 22, 2023, when he tried to pull red colored levers which cut off a plane’s engine’s fuel supply, as per The New York Post.

According to the audio shared by KGW 8, crew members in the flight can be heard attempting to call for help after a commotion is heard in the cockpit. A scuffle can be heard in the audio after Emerson appeared to say that he wants to go “home.” In the audio recording, a crew member then called for help and said,

“Horizon, we need to make an emergency landing…It’s Horizon 2059. We’ve got a jump seater, just tried to shut our engines off, we need to go direct to Portland, now!”

The flight eventually landed in Portland after the scuffle that endangered the lives of all 84 people on board.

Joseph Emerson can also be heard saying that he had a nervous breakdown in dash cam footage

After the troubling moments in the cockpit, Joseph Emerson was taken into custody once the flight landed in Portland. According to dash cam footage shared by KGW 8, Emerson told authorities that he underwent a meltdown in the cockpit. He said,

“I’m having a nervous breakdown…I don’t really know why.”

As per the news outlet, Emerson had consumed psychedelic mushroom a couple of days ago, and was also sleep deprived.

“I was trying to wake up…I didn’t feel like it’s real.”

In other dash cam footage from Emerson’s arrest circulating on social media, he asked a police officer if he believed in forgiveness. He said,

“I want to be accountable but am I going to be forgiven for being so stupid?”

NEW: Audio footage released revealing the moment an Alaska Airlines pilot tried shutting off the engines of a plane with 84 people on board mid-flight.

Joseph Emerson was tripping on mushrooms when he tried to crash the plane.

At the time of the incident, Emerson was off duty… pic.twitter.com/7s04K26jyE

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 11, 2025

As per The New York Post, the off-duty pilot was also mourning the death of a friend at the time. After his arrest, Emerson was imprisoned for 46 days, and was released in December 2023, while awaiting trial. The news outlet noted that he had been ordered by the court to refrain from using dr*gs and alcohol, in addition to availing mental health services.

Emerson faced 83 counts of endangering another person in addition to facing a charge of endangering an aircraft, as per BBC. He pled no contest to the charges, and received probation of five years alongside a prison sentence of 50 days, according to the news outlet.

As per another report by The New York Post, Emerson was also ordered to do 664 hours of community service and pay $60,569 in restitution.

While speaking to CBS Mornings in July 2025, Emerson recounted the incident and, as per CBS News, said,

“I had no intention of crashing an actual airplane. I wanted to wake up. I was convinced I wasn't going home to my wife and kids…I mean, in the dream, in that dissociative state, I thought they were going to wake me up. It didn't wake me up, right? I was in reality. I know that now. You know, it's the most consequential three seconds of my life.”

According to BBC, after the incident, Emerson and his wife began an organization named Clear Skies Ahead, which aims to brings a greater focus towards mental health issues with pilots.