A Seattle-based law firm filed a class action lawsuit Thursday on behalf of passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight in which an off-duty pilot tried to cut the engines.
The Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore firm filed the legal complaint against Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air in King County Superior Court. It names three passengers as plaintiffs, as well as “Does 1-76.”
Joseph David Emerson, 44, is accused of attempting to cut the engines on an Alaska Airlines flight operated by Horizon Air that was traveling from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on Oct. 22. The flight was diverted to the Portland International Airport.
Emerson faces 83 charges of attempted murder, 83 charges of reckless endangerment and one charge of endangering an aircraft. He was also charged in federal court with interference with flight crew members and attendants. He pleaded not guilty to those charges last week.
In this Feb. 25, 2019, file photo, baggage from an Alaska Airlines flight is unloaded at Portland International Airport in Portland, Ore.
Jenny Kane / AP
Emerson told investigators he was having a nervous breakdown, hadn’t slept in over 40 hours and was dehydrated, according to court records. He also said he had taken psychedelic mushrooms 48 hours earlier.
The lawsuit claims Emerson was allowed to ride in the cockpit’s “jump seat” despite not meeting minimum requirements for pre-flight rest and mental health, while also having broken rules against pilots using certain drugs.
The passengers’ attorneys say Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air executives have yet to explain what safety measures their crews took before allowing Emerson to ride in the cockpit. Their legal complaint calls on the airlines to “conduct reasonable examinations” of all flightcrew and jumpseat passengers, and to keep a record of those examinations for at least three years.
The lawsuit also asks for unspecified monetary damages to accommodate the passengers’ travel fees and costs, as well as any emotional trauma they endured.
On Oct. 22, Emerson was riding in the cockpit when he threw his headset and told the pilots, “I’m not OK,” according to the affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. One of the pilots saw him attempting to pull red fire handles that activate the engines’ fire suppression system. If activated, the system cuts off fuel supply to the engines, “turning the aircraft into a glider within seconds.”
The other pilot told investigators that they became “physically engaged” for half a minute. Emerson then calmly walked to the back of the aircraft, where he was later restrained to a flight attendant seat. Court documents say he then tried to open an emergency exit. Flight attendants said they heard him saying he had “messed everything up,” and that he had “tried to kill everybody.”
Alaska Airlines has defended the response from its flight crews that day.
“Our crew responded without hesitation to a difficult and highly unusual situation, and we are incredibly proud and grateful for their skillful actions,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement posted on the company website two days after the incident.