Pilot Who Attempted Engine Flame-Out had Used Hallucinogens
On 22 October 2023, off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, attempted to deploy the engine fire-suppression systems of an in-flight Horizon Air Embraer E-175. Had he succeeded, the regional jet’s powerplants, both of them, would likely have flamed out over the mountainous terrain south of Seattle, Washington. Comes now 30 October and news that Emerson was returning home from an emotional weekend during which he was reminded acutely of a close friend who’d died unexpectedly nearly six-years ago.