‘Most consequential 3 seconds’: Ex-Alaska Airlines pilot recalls attempting to shut off flight’s engine mid-air; feared fatal end

Former Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, under the influence of “magic mushrooms,” recalls pulling levers that could have cut off fuel to the engines on a flight carrying 83 passengers. Emerson, grieving a friend's death, claims he sought to "wake up" from a dissociative state. The flight safely diverted to Portland, where he was arrested.