Flight attendants on a Delta flight to Tokyo reportedly turned their drink carts into barricades when a passenger's behavior spiraled midair, according to a federal complaint. The incident unfolded Jan. 18 on a Minneapolis-to-Tokyo flight, and was classified as a "Level 2" disturbance in court documents filed in the US District Court of Alaska, per People. An FBI special agent said the FAA sent multiple alerts about a man who was roaming the aisle and becoming "verbally abusive," and who ultimately forced the pilot to divert to Anchorage with about six hours still left in the journey.
Flight attendants told investigators that the 64-year-old passenger appeared disoriented from the start, with one attendant saying they wondered if he might be experiencing dementia symptoms. At one point, the man allegedly climbed out of his seat over an armrest and shoved a female flight attendant down the aisle, before two male attendants intervened and escorted him back to his seat. Later, when he reportedly tried to make his way toward first class, crew members brought him back again and parked beverage carts in the aisle so he couldn't get up, the affidavit states.
Paddle Your Own Kanoo notes that a Level 2 disturbance doesn't always necessitate an emergency diversion, but in this case, the crew decided not to fly over the ocean with the man still on board. After landing in Anchorage, an FBI agent boarded, cuffed, and removed the man, who was reportedly taken to a local medical facility. Delta said the crew had reported "potential medical issues involving a customer" and confirmed that law enforcement and EMS met the aircraft. The passenger was indicted on Jan. 20 and arrested on Friday on charges of interfering with a flight crew and assaulting a flight attendant; a detention hearing and arraignment were set to have taken place on Monday.
In an attempt to try to nix the arrest warrant, the man's legal team argued that a doctor said a CT scan showed brain tumors that had metastasized, which could explain the in-flight behavior. The filing called jailing him with an "extremely serious" medical condition "extremely inappropriate, unnecessary, and inhumane." A judge denied the motion on Friday. The US Attorney's Office declined to comment, and the man's attorney didn't respond to a request for comment. Aviation A2Z notes that even though such incidents involving unruly passengers have died down somewhat since the pandemic, they still continue "to pose operational and safety risks for airlines worldwide."
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