An Alaska Airlines off-duty pilot who tried to disable an aircraft on Sunday told investigators he had self-medicated with psilocybin (magic) mushrooms 48 hours before the incident to battle his escalating mental health issues. He had also not slept in 40 hours. In charging documents reviewed by the Associated Press it was revealed that Joseph David Emerson, 44, had a long history of depression and that before trying to pull the handles that cut fuel and power to the engines he told the on-duty pilots "I'm not OK." Emerson pleaded not guilty to a total of 167 charges (one each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment for the 83 people onboard) and a single federal count of endangering an aircraft.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/jumpseat-pilot-was-battling-depression