East Bay Man Tried To Crash SF-Bound Plane

UPDATE: The man has now claimed he was on mushrooms. Which is no excuse.

When you think of the East Bay suburb of Pleasant Hill, what do you think? If you’re reading this, you probably live in San Francisco or something and have never heard of Pleasant Hill, which is fine. You’re not missing much, but there is a part of the East Bay that exists on the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel. It’s a land dominated by strip malls and tract housing all under the watchful eye of Mount Diablo. 

It’s a boring place that’s reminiscent of Orange County minus the ocean. It’s also the home of Joseph David Emerson, a resident of Pleasant Hill, California. He was seated in the flight deck’s jumpseat, a reserved spot in the cockpit for off-duty pilots not involved in flying the aircraft. While in this privileged position, Emerson allegedly attempted to seize control of the plane’s engines by triggering the fire suppression system. He pulled two handles that would have blocked air, fuel, pneumatics, and hydraulics from reaching the engines, a potentially catastrophic act.

Quick thinking by the flight captain and the crew prevented disaster. They managed to reset the handles and restrain Emerson, all while diverting the plane safely to Portland International Airport. Although the situation was brought under control without incident, it prompted a significant security alert from the Federal Aviation Administration, warning all U.S. airlines about the gravity of this unusual event.

After touching down, law enforcement officers boarded the aircraft and led Emerson away in handcuffs. The incident left passengers shaken.

Neighbors and acquaintances of Joseph David Emerson expressed shock and disbelief at the news. Many described him as a friendly, family-oriented individual who appeared to be passionate about his career in aviation. His social media profiles depicted a seemingly normal life, playing the ukulele in the cockpit and advocating for pilot standards and benefits.

That’s the thing about the suburbs that’s truly unsettling. Everyone looks fine, but there is an internal world where people aren’t, and they don’t know how to express it without fear of ostracization. I remember when I first moved to Contra Costa County, I thought the other side of the Caldecott was all sunshine and roses – I was wrong. 

A lot of these people, despite the benign social media posts, frequent trips to Target and obligatory dinner parties, are just a few bad days away from trying to bring the whole fuckin’ plane down. 

So while Joseph’s neighbors are shocked, I’m not. I don’t know Joseph, but I know people who live their entire lives unhappy, desperately trying to appear like they are. And when you get to know them, you realize that success in most people’s minds is just the obfuscation of existential dread by way of consumerism.  

I’m not saying that is why this man attempted to kill a plane full of people, but just because someone is your neighbor and they don’t ask for help, doesn’t mean they’re not struggling.

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