Off-duty pilot charged with trying to crash plane was on psychedelic mushrooms

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} An off-duty pilot, who was sitting in a jump seat and tried to “shut down” the Alaska Airlines‘ plane engines during the flight—while on psychedelic mushrooms— now has a federal charge tacked onto his 83 counts of attempted murder. They didn’t…it didn’t seem right.” The off-duty pilot then said, “Yah…I pulled both emergency shut-off handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just wanna wake up.” Although he first said he didn’t take any medication, he later admitted that it was his first time taking psychedelic mushrooms. The US Attorney’s Office provided more information about the incident, writing that Mr Emerson “attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines. “We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit, and he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issues in the back right now,” the plane’s pilot told Seattle-area air traffic controllers in audio recorded by LiveATC.net.