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Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty to reckless endangerment on Thursday
The pilot is accused of trying to shoot down a passenger plane in October
He claimed that a magic mushroom-induced stupor almost caused the near-disaster.
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An off-duty pilot who allegedly nearly brought down a passenger plane after taking psychedelic magic mushrooms has pleaded not guilty to 83 counts of reckless endangerment.
Joseph David Emerson, 44, allegedly attempted to shut down the engines of an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight on Oct. 22, after admitting to taking hallucinogenic drugs two days earlier that left him in a confused stupor.
The pilot and father of two was arraigned in Multnomah County Court in Portland, Oregon, where he appeared Thursday to deny 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of endangering an aircraft.
After he pleaded not guilty, a judge approved his release from custody and he posted $50,000 bail, which included a condition that he not come within 30 feet of any aircraft.
He is scheduled to return to court on January 19.
Pilot Joe Emerson, 44, said a manic psychotic episode induced by a magic mushroom nearly caused him to shoot down a passenger plane in October.
The father of two (pictured at his previous court appearance on October 24), pleaded not guilty to 83 counts of reckless endangerment.
Emerson initially faced charges of attempted murder, but last week a grand jury reduced his case to reckless endangerment. The 83 counts of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, represent everyone on board the plane.