The Embraer 175, operated by Alaska Airlines' Horizon Air, is a twin-engine, narrow-body regional jet airliner that seats between 70 and 80 passengers. Joseph Emerson, traveling off-duty in the cockpit jump seat, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Portland, Ore., to time served and three years of supervised release for trying to shut down the planes engines while in flight. Photo by Alaska Airlines media
Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut down a plane's engines during a flight in 2023 won't serve any more jail time.
Joseph Emerson, traveling off duty in the Embraer 175 cockpit jump seat, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Portland, Ore., to time served and three years of supervised release. He will also have to pay a $100 fine, KATU-TV reported.
"Pilots are not perfect," U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio said before announcing her sentence. "They are human. There is no such thing as a perfect pilot. They are people and all people need help sometimes."
In September, Emerson, a resident of Pleasant Hill, Calif., pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew as part of a deal with prosecutors. He had faced 20 years and prosecutors initially wanted a year in jail.
