High on mushrooms, Alaska Air pilot tries to shut off plane engines mid-air

A sleep-deprived and off-duty pilot, who was reportedly “high on magic mushrooms”, has been accused of trying to crash an Alaska Airlines plane packed with 83 other passengers and crew on board, flying from Seattle to San Francisco.

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Joseph Emerson was reportedly sitting on a jump seat in the cockpit of the plane when he suddenly lunged for the two emergency engine shutoff handles in the ceiling panel and began to pull them down.