Pilot who tried to turn off engines after taking magic mushrooms thought he was 'already dead'

"Emerson's lawyers said he had an unusual reaction to psilocybin, the active ingredient in the drug. He was left feeling detached from reality for several days, a condition known as Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder. Emerson "believed he was either trapped in a dream or already dead," his lawyers wrote in a sentencing memo filed Wednesday. They add that he didn't believe Flight 2059 was real, but he boarded because he believed it would help him wake up and see his family again."

"After trying to shut down the engines, the pilots intervened, and Emerson left the cockpit. Again, he became convinced he was in a dream because he was surprised by how calm the passengers seemed. Emerson then put his hand in a pot of hot coffee to try to wake up. Ultimately, he told the flight attendants he couldn't distinguish what was real and asked them to cuff him."

Joseph Emerson, an off-duty Alaska Airlines captain, was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after trying to shut down a plane's engines while seated in the cockpit jump seat on Flight 2059. About 48 hours earlier he had taken magic mushrooms at a remembrance for a pilot friend who died. Lawyers reported an unusual reaction to psilocybin that left him detached from reality for days, diagnosed as Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder. He believed he was trapped in a dream, attempted to shut down engines, put his hand in hot coffee to wake up, asked attendants to cuff him, and was arrested after the flight diverted. He began journaling in jail and recognized years of alcoholism and later established a nonprofit focused on mental health in aviation. Sentencing is scheduled next week.

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