Pilot Who Ate 'Magic Mushrooms' Admits Turning Off Engine While Flying Plane With 84 Passengers

Illustration of a Boeing B-737 aircraft. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - A commercial airline pilot named Joseph Emerson shut down the engines of a plane carrying 84 passengers mid-flight after consuming magic mushrooms, and has confessed to his actions.

Emerson admitted his actions during a first-degree hearing in Oregon State Court, United States (US).

"Joseph Emerson's actions were reckless, selfish, and criminal," said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Eric Pickard after the sentencing, as quoted by NBC News.

In Oregon state court on Friday, September 5, local time, Emerson was sentenced to 50 days in jail, which he has already served, including five years of probation, 664 hours of community service, and $60,569 in restitution.

"We must remember this: how close he came to destroying not only the lives of the 84 people on Flight 2059, but also their entire families and friends," the prosecutor continued.

Despite admitting his actions before the sentencing hearing, Emerson maintained his innocence on 83 state charges of reckless endangerment. He also denied one count of first-degree endangering an aircraft, a felony.

Emerson pleaded guilty to only one count of interfering with flight crew and flight attendants.

Magic mushrooms containing psilocybin can cause effects ranging from euphoria to hallucinations. (Unsplash-Fredrik Ivansson)

After being convicted at the state level, the pilot, who has been dismissed by his airline, will still face a first-degree sentencing hearing in federal court.

Emerson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison at his federal trial, scheduled for November 17, 2025.

Court documents state that Emerson was off-duty and not piloting the Horizon Airlines flight at the time of the incident on October 22, 2023. He was in the cockpit jump seat while the plane was flying over Oregon.

Emerson then reached for the red fire extinguisher lever and pulled it down, cutting off the fuel supply to the engine. This action automatically shut down the engine.

The pilot and first officer then stopped Emerson, and the flight was diverted to Portland.

Emerson had reportedly recently consumed psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance found in magic mushrooms, at the time of the incident on the Washington-San Francisco flight.

The Horizon Airlines flight was carrying 84 passengers, including Emerson, 11 of whom were children under the age of 14. All passengers survived without injury.