Off-duty pilot who tried to cut a flight’s engines midair won't serve prison time, judge rules

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ruled there would be no prison time for a former Alaska Airlines pilot who had taken psychedelic mushrooms days before he tried to cut the engines of a passenger flight in 2023 while riding off-duty in the cockpit.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio in Portland, Oregon, sentenced Joseph Emerson to time served and three years' supervised release, ending a case that drew attention to the need for cockpit safety and more mental health support for pilots.

Federal prosecutors wanted a year in prison, while his attorneys sought probation.

“Pilots are not perfect. They are human,” Baggio said. “They are people and all people need help sometimes.”

Emerson hugged his attorneys and tearfully embraced his wife after he was sentenced.

Emerson was subdued by the flight crew after trying to cut the engines of a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco on Oct. 22, 2023, while he was riding in an extra seat in the cockpit. The plane was diverted and landed in Portland with more than 80 people.

Emerson told police he was despondent over a friend’s recent death, had taken psychedelic mushrooms about two days earlier, and hadn’t slept in over 40 hours. He has said he believed he was dreaming and was trying to wake up by grabbing two red handles that would have activated the fire suppression system and cut fuel to the engines.

He spent 46 days in jail and was released pending trial in December 2023, with requirements that he undergo mental health services, stay off drugs and alcohol, and keep away from aircraft.

Attorney Ethan Levi described his client's actions as “a product of untreated alcohol use disorder.” Emerson had been drinking and accepted mushrooms “because of his lower inhibitions,” Levi said.

Emerson went to treatment after jail and has been sober since, he added.

Baggio said the case is a cautionary tale. Before she sentenced him, Emerson said he regretted the harm he caused.

“I’m not a victim. I am here as a direct result of my actions,” he told the court. “I can tell you that this very tragic event has forced me to grow as an individual.”

Emerson’s wife, Sarah Stretch, was among those who spoke on his behalf at the hearing.

“I am so sorry for those that it’s impacted as much as it has. But I am extremely proud to be here with this man today, because the growth that he has had from this terrible experience has not only helped him, but benefited all that surround him,” she said through tears.

One of the pilots of the 2023 Horizon Air flight, Alan Koziol, said he didn't think Emerson was acting with malice and that he seemed “more like a trapped animal than a man in control of his faculties.” Koziol said that while pilots bear “immense responsibility,” he also wanted to see the aviation industry become more open to allowing pilots to seek mental health care.

Lyle Prouse, sentenced to 16 months in prison for flying an airliner under the influence of alcohol in 1990, told the judge via videoconference that Emerson was “solidly engaged" in recovering. Prouse said he got sober and was eventually reinstated by the airline and retired as a 747 captain. He was pardoned by then-President Bill Clinton.

“I know Joe like nobody else in this courtroom knows Joe on that level,” he said.

Geoffrey Barrow, assistant U.S. attorney in the district of Oregon, said Emerson's actions were serious and that the crew “saved the day by intervening."

“There were 84 people on that plane who could have lost their lives," he said.

Alison Snyder told the court via phone that it was a traumatic experience for her and her husband as passengers.

“Because of Joseph Emerson's actions that day, we will never feel as safe flying as we once did," she said.

Emerson, of Pleasant Hill, California, had pleaded guilty or no-contest to all charges in September as part of agreements with prosecutors.

He was charged in federal court with interfering with a flight crew. A state indictment in Oregon separately charged him with 83 counts of endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft.

A state court sentenced him to 50 days in jail, with credit for time served, plus five years of probation, 664 hours of community service — half of which he can serve at his own pilot health nonprofit — and over $60,000 in restitution, nearly all of it to Alaska Air Group. His sentence included rules over drugs, alcohol and mental health treatment, as well as avoiding aircraft.

His attorneys argued before federal sentencing that the “robust” state prosecution “resulted in substantial punishment.”

Emerson told a state court in September he was grateful the crew restrained him. He said being forced to confront his mental health and alcohol dependence was the greatest gift he ever received.

Mike Tacconi, left, and Carmen Loeffler, right, friends of former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, speak in support of Emerson following his sentencing at the U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)

Former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, center, walks into U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)

Former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, center, walks into U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)

FILE - Joseph David Emerson, back, appears in Multnomah County Circuit Court for an indictment hearing in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 7, 2023. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP, Pool, File)

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city’s court on Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai, 78, was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, Lai has been sentenced for several lesser offenses, and appears to have grown more frail and thinner.

After entering the courtroom wearing a grey blazer, Lai smiled and waved to the public gallery. Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen.

Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, has been closely monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

His verdict is also a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. U.S. President Donald Trump said he has raised the case with China, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.

The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, in addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications.

Under Hong Kong's sweeping national security law, the collusion charge could result in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment, depending on the offense's nature and his role in it. The sedition charge carries a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. A hearing was set for January for Lai to present mitigating factors before sentencing.

The Apple Daily was a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. It was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.

During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

The prosecution also accused Lai of making such requests, highlighting his meetings with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.

It also presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the court as evidence of conspiracy to publish seditious materials, as well as social media posts and text messages.

Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the sweeping security law was imposed in June 2020.

His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.

As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.

Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. His daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father has become weaker and skinnier, and lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.

“His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said.

Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai's complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were “adequate and comprehensive.”

Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.

Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know about Lai's condition after reports of his health.

She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”

Originally scheduled to start in December 2022, Lai’s trial was postponed to December 2023 as authorities blocked a British lawyer from representing him, citing national security risks.

In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over separate fraud charges involving lease violations at Apple Daily’s headquarters. He was also previously sentenced for his roles in unauthorized assemblies in other cases related to the 2019 protests.

Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial, in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)