PORTLAND — Joseph David Emerson, the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who is charged with trying to crash a jetliner in Oregon while riding a jumpseat in the cockpit, had piloted another commercial aircraft just three days earlier.

The terrifyingly close proximity of the two events — Emerson sitting at the controls of his own jetliner on Oct. 19 and Emerson allegedly leaping out of the jumpseat in an attempt to crash a Horizon plane by pulling emergency fuel cutoff handles Sunday, Oct. 22 — underscores gaping holes in the public safety net that allow pilots in mental distress to remain at the helm of massive aircraft.

“That could be devastating,” said Joseph Gutheinz Jr., a Texas lawyer who in previous roles investigated pilots suspected of lying about their mental health for federal agencies. “The bottom line: This is a major problem.”

After last working Oct. 19, Emerson told Port of Portland police who took him into custody at Portland International Airport that he was having a “nervous breakdown” and had used “magic mushrooms” 48 hours earlier, which would have been Friday evening. He also said he hadn’t slept in the past 40 hours, which would have been approximately since 2 a.m. Oct. 21.

Emerson told police he had been battling depression for the previous six months and he’d been struggling to come to terms with the death of a close friend, though it’s unclear whether his employer or the Federal Aviation Administration were aware. An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said she was “unable to share any private employment details.” The FAA didn’t respond to questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Gutheinz said he wouldn’t be surprised if Emerson hid his struggles from them — or even if he didn’t and he was allowed to continue flying.

“There are people that fly sick … and they represent a threat to the flying public and to the people on the ground,” Gutheinz said. “And the FAA is basically an absentee landlord when it comes to protecting the public.”

He added an airplane is the equivalent of “a flying bomb.” According to the FAA, tens of thousands of flights safely take off or land daily at U.S. airports. They transport close to three million passengers. The last fatal U.S. airlines passenger crash was in 2009 in New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.

The FAA states most mental health conditions “if treated, do not disqualify a pilot from flying.” But some, including psychosis and bipolar disorder, automatically do.

In August, an investigation by The Washington Post found nearly 5,000 pilots are suspected of falsifying medical records to hide benefits they’ve been receiving for mental illness or other health problems that might make them hazards on the job.

FAA regulations require pilots undergo medical examinations every six months to five years, depending on the type of aircraft they operate and their age. But aviation experts say those with mental health or other problems sometimes conceal them, out of fear they will be cut off from flying.

The FAA says it takes mental health concerns seriously and has been trying to reduce the stigma pilots feel in reporting depression and other difficulties they’re facing.

In a statement posted to its website, Alaska Airlines said Emerson’s medical certification had never been “denied, suspended or revoked.”

One of Emerson’s defense attorneys, Noah Horst, said he and his colleagues will “pursue a diligent investigation into all the facts and circumstances” leading up to Sunday’s events.

“Joseph Emerson is a caring father, a loving husband, and a skilled aviator who is supported and loved by a vast network of friends, family, and colleagues,” Horst said in an email. “He would never intentionally hurt another person. Joe was not under the influence of any intoxicants when he boarded that flight.”

Emerson, who lives in the Bay Area of California, remains in Multnomah County Jail.

He faces 83 counts of attempted murder and one count of first-degree endangering aircraft in Multnomah County Circuit Court. He also faces federal charges, which he heard during his arraignment Thursday, Oct. 26.