Off-duty Bay Area pilot told cockpit crew “I’m not okay” before trying to shut off engines in flight

The harrowing encounter that nearly doomed a Horizon Air plane flying Sunday from Seattle to San Francisco began without warning when an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot from Pleasant Hill riding in a cockpit jump seat blurted out to the flight captain and first officer: “I’m not okay,” according to a federal court affidavit.

Joseph David Emerson, 44, then reached up and pulled red handles that cut off fuel to the plane’s engines, intended as an emergency safety measure if they catch fire, the affidavit said. The pilot grabbed Emerson’s wrist and the men “wrestled” for about 30 seconds, then Emerson “quickly settled down,” it said. The pilot asked Emerson to leave the cockpit, and Emerson left on his own, it said.

The plane landed in Portland, where officers arrested Emerson, 44, on charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and endangering an aircraft, and he was expected to be arraigned in court Tuesday.

Federal authorities have since charged Emerson with interfering with a flight crew that carries a sentence of up to 20 years if he’s convicted. The affidavit by FBI Special Agent TaPara Simmons Jr. was filed in support of those charges.

The cockpit incident, which the affidavit said lasted only a minute and a half, shocked friends and neighbors who knew Emerson as a safety-conscious pilot and a devoted family man.

“We are devastated at the news,” said longtime neighbor Karen Yee. “He’s everything you would want to have in a good neighbor. We see him over the fence and on walks. Great guy. Great family. We really send our love and support to them.”

Emerson was riding in an extra “jump seat” in the cockpit of Horizon Air flight 2059, an Embraer 175 that left Everett, Washington, at 5:23 p.m. Sunday, headed for San Francisco.

Alaska Airlines, which owns Horizon Air, said in a revised statement Monday evening that Emerson had joined Alaska Air Group as a Horizon first officer in August 2001. In June 2012, he left Horizon to join Virgin America as a pilot. Following Alaska’s acquisition of Virgin America in 2016, he became an Alaska Airlines first officer again and rose to captain in 2019.

“Throughout his career, Emerson completed his mandated FAA medical certifications in accordance with regulatory requirements, and at no point were his certifications denied, suspended or revoked,” Alaska Airlines said.