Pilot Joseph Emerson ‘takes responsibility’ for terrifying 30secs when he ‘tried to crash plane mid-air with 83 onboard’

A FORMER Alaska Airlines pilot, who attempted to shut off the engines of a flight while in the air, said he has taken responsibility for his actions.

Joseph Emerson was on board with 83 passengers during the incident last October that he called “the worst 30 seconds” of his life.

ABC

ABC

ABC

Emerson was an off-duty pilot who sat in the cockpit’s jump seat during the flight from Everett, Washington , to San Francisco, California .

The flight soon became one of the most famous in the world after Emerson reached for the suppression handles, that cut fuel supply to the engine.

Emerson later revealed that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms, for the first time, two days before the flight.

The pilot has spoken out 10 months after the horrifying ordeal and opened up about that day.

“I did something unfathomable,” he told ABC News in an interview.

“Something I have to take responsibility for and I regret,” he added.

Emerson also opened up about his mental health struggles and said he was scared to seek help for fear of jeopardizing his career.

He explained that he had suffered with these struggles after his best friend Scott died

“There was a feeling of being trapped, like “Am I trapped in this airplane? This is not real I need to wake up,”” he recalled.

The pilot shared that he took the drugs in the hopes of helping his depression but revealed he could have still been hallucinating while on the plane.

Emerson said he felt that pulling the levers would wake him up from his hallucinations.

“​​It’s 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can’t,” he told ABC News.

He also recalled that he was removed from the cockpit but put his hand on an emergency door handle when a flight attendant then stopped him.

“I think around that period is when I said, “I don’t understand what’s real I need you to tough cuff me,” he added.

​​It’s 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can’t.”

Joseph Emerson

Emerson said he wanted to raise awareness around mental health for pilots and the fear they may feel to seek help.

He has shared more about his work and a movement to reform the Federal Aviation Administration’s strict rules on this topic in a New York Times documentary named ‘Lie to Fly.’

Emerson has also opened up on how this incident changed his personal and family life.

He explained that he has become closer to his wife Sarah and their young children following the ordeal.

Emerson was initially charged with 83 counts of attempted murder but these were reduced to 83 counts of reckless endangerment in December.

He was also handed one count of endangering aircraft in the first degree and Emerson has pleaded not guilty.

The former pilot has also been banned from flying and leaving his state.