Former pilot pleads to criminal charges after endangering flight over Oregon skies

By Conrad Wilson (OPB) and Riley Martinez (OPB)
Sept. 4, 2025 10:17 p.m. Updated: Sept. 6, 2025 1:07 a.m.

Joseph David Emerson told police he was in crisis and had not slept in 48 hours when he attempted to cut the fuel to the aircraft. He also said he’d taken hallucinogenic mushrooms earlier that weekend.