PORTLAND, OR — A Pleasant Hill pilot is set to plead guilty in the criminal case that resulted from his nightmarish first experience with psilocybin mushrooms, which could have ended with the deaths of everyone on board a passenger airplane.
“I’m admitting to what I did. I’m not fighting any charges you want to bring against me, guys,” Joseph David Emerson allegedly told authorities after Horizon Airlines Flight 2059 had landed safely. Now those words appear prophetic.
Court records say Emerson was due in court Friday morning to plead guilty to a federal offense before U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio. He has been charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants.
Emerson allegedly boarded the Oct. 22, 2023 flight from San Francisco to Everett, Washington on a special seat reserved for professional pilots. Midway through, as the plane was over Oregon, he allegedly attempted to shut off the engine, struggling with the captain and co-pilot over the controls, while stating, “I’m not ok.” He later explained he had tried psychedelic mushrooms for the first time and was dealing with depression, adding, “I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up,” the criminal complaint says.
Eighty-four people were aboard the plane at the time, according to court records.
Emerson was released from jail in December 2023 and has been out of custody ever since. Details about his potential sentence have not been made public.
This is a developing report. Check back for updates.