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Off-duty pilot pleads guilty to trying to crash Alaska Airlines jet

A former pilot accused of attempting to shut off the engines of a passenger jet mid-flight has pleaded guilty to the charges in a federal court.

Joseph David Emerson was riding off-duty in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight when he told the pilots "I am not okay" before trying to cut the engines midair,flames in work court documents showed.

Emerson also told police he had taken psychedelic mushrooms and had been struggling with depression.

Under his plea agreement, prosecutors can recommend a one-year prison sentence, while his attorneys are expected to argue for no additional jail time.

He pleaded no-contest to reckless endangerment and first-degree endangering an aircraft in Oregon state court, and guilty in federal court, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

In the state court, he was sentenced to 50 days in jail, which he has already served, five years' probation, 664 hours of community service - eight hours for each person he endangered - and $60,659 (￡44,907) in restitution, CBS News, the BBC's partner in the US, reported.

"What Joseph Emerson did was reckless, selfish, and criminal," Multnomah County, Oregon, Deputy District Attorney Eric Pickard said. "We should remember how close he came to ruining the lives of not just the 84 people aboard Flight 2059, but all of their family members and friends as well."

In court on Friday, Emerson said he had been unable to perceive reality after taking the mushrooms, but added "that doesn't make this right".

"This difficult journey has made me a better father, a better husband, a better member of my community," he said. "Today I get to be the dad I was incapable of when I had to use alcohol to deal with life as life is."

The flight on 22 October, 2023 was on its way from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco, California, with 80 passengers aboard. It was then diverted to Portland, Oregon.

The criminal complaint states that one pilot said he had to wrestle with Emerson until he stopped resisting and was ushered out of the cockpit. The entire incident lasted about 90 seconds.

After being subdued, Mr Emerson said to flight attendants: "You need to cuff me right now or it's going to be bad" and later tried to reach for the emergency exit handle during the plane's descent, the documents say.

One flight attendant told investigators they had observed Emerson saying "I messed everything up" and that he "tried to kill everybody".

Emerson can serve half his community service hours at Clear Skies Ahead, a non-profit for pilot health that he founded with his wife after his arrest.

He must also be assessed for drug and alcohol use, refrain from using non-prescribed drugs, and keep at least 25 feet (7.6m) away from operable jets without permission from his probation officer, CBS reported.

His sentencing in the federal case is scheduled for 17 November.

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