Pilot Had Nervous Breakdown, Tried Mushrooms Before Trying to Take Plane Down

The off-duty Alaska Airways pilot who tried taking down a sister airline’s airplane is blaming the incident on a nervous breakdown and a severe lack of shut-eye, and in addition admits to taking shrooms.

Joseph D. Emerson admitted to regulation enforcement he tried shutting off the airplane’s engines throughout a “nervous breakdown” within the cockpit, including he felt dehydrated and drained and had not slept in 40 hours.

Based on the felony grievance, obtained by TMZ, Emerson advised investigators, “I did not really feel okay. It appeared just like the pilots weren’t listening to what was happening. They did not … it did not appear proper.”

Emerson copped to pulling each emergency shut-off handles, explaining … “I believed I used to be dreaming and I simply wanna get up.”

Police say Emerson advised them he wasn’t taking any treatment, however stated he had been depressed for about six months … after which the dialog turned to psychedelic mushrooms.

The grievance says Emerson advised investigators about his use of magic mushrooms, saying it was his first time taking shrooms. The grievance doesn’t make it clear when or what number of mushrooms Emerson ingested, however there’s an insinuation he may need been on mushrooms in the course of the flight.

As we reported, Emerson was arrested and booked on 83 accounts of tried homicide for the incident on a flight from Washington to San Francisco.

Now, the feds are charging him with inference with flight crew members and attendants … a cost carrying a jail sentence of as much as 20 years behind bars.

Bear in mind … the captain and first officer subdued Emerson within the cockpit after he tried to close off the engines mid-flight.

The pilots advised cops that earlier than Emerson reached for the handles he said, “I am not okay.”

The grievance says after Emerson was subdued, he advised a flight attendant, “You could cuff me proper now or it should be unhealthy.” One other flight attendant says Emerson said, “I messed every part up” and the attendant advised investigators, “he tried to kill everyone.”