A grand jury in Oregon indicted an East Bay pilot for Alaska Airlines on charges of endangering an aircraft and recklessly endangering others over an October incident in which he allegedly tried to shut off the plane’s engines that led to an emergency diversion to Portland International Airport, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill, who remains in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center, was scheduled for arraignment at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 7 on the indictment on a charge of endangering an aircraft and 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person, the Multnomah County District Attorney said.
But lawyers for Emerson noted Tuesday that the grand jury did not also indict the pilot on charges of attempted murder for which he originally was charged.
“The attempted murder charges were never appropriate in this case because Captain Emerson never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk — he just wanted to return home to his wife and children,” said a statement from Emerson’s lawyers, Ethan Levi, Noah Horst and Norah Van Dusen.
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