Posted on 01/25/2012 6:06:09 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
A Continental Airlines flight traveling from Houston to California had to be diverted here Tuesday evening because of an “unruly passenger” who reportedly lit a cigarette in the cabin and refused to put it out then fought with a flight attendant, officials said.
The man, whose name and age were not available, was taken into custody by the San Antonio police and the FBI and could face federal charges, officials said.
San Antonio police Capt. Cris Andersen said the man allegedly lit the cigarette while in the cabin. He reportedly refused to put out the cigarette and when a flight attendant tried to take it from him there was a struggle, Andersen said.
The pilot notified the Transportation Security Administration about the disturbance and the plane was diverted to the San Antonio International Airport where it landed just before 7:45 p.m., according Andersen and the Continental Airlines website.
Upon landing, the man was taken into custody, Andersen said. He added it is standard protocol to inform the FBI when someone needs to be removed from a flight. The FBI then reviews the case to see if federal or state charges would apply. In this case, Andersen said, he was told the passenger possibly faced federal charges.
According to the Continental Airlines website, the flight was supposed to be non-stop from Houston to Ontario, Calif., and arrived about two hours late because of the diversion.
No mention of the man’s name or nationality...
Lock the violent jerk passenger in the lavatory or some such thing, then continue to destination. This country is nervous crazy.
I once got on a flight next to a very nervous-looking young man who continually put chewing tobacco into his mouth, but never once, during the entire five-hour flight, did I see him spit.
I think I sat in that seat after him.
If passenger safety is the primary goal, mightn’t it behoove the airliner’s attendants to inform unruly, but not combative passengers, of the consequences of their behavior upon arrival and not engage in physical actions with them?
This shows zero perspective from the airplane crew.
The cigarette would have been out very soon. The people would have all been on time and he could have been similarly dealt with in Ontario as he was in San Antonio. Upsetting that schedule for 200 people based on a cigarette is about the dumbest thing I’ve heard, besides a guy lighting up on the plane to begin with, of course.
A cigarette is not a bomb, gun, knife or anything at all like a sufficient safety reason to divert a flight. It’s only happened to me two times ever amongst lots of travel, once the plane had a mechanical problem (bravo) and twice, a passenger was having a heart attack and dying (bravo again). My schedule was hopelessly messed up each time but I wasn’t upset at all. For that, I’d have been pretty angry.
Ah the good old days when you could smoke on a flight, the flight attendants were all attractive, pleasant young females, there was actually good air circulation in the cabin, you couldn’t consume alcohol if you were flying in Kansas and flying generally was a pleasurable experience!
Why didn’t the attendant just grab one of the pitchers used for water and dump it on him?
These idiots must have the forethought of a 8 year old girl. couple years from now their wife will say... hey lets fly to see our relatives... and he will still be on the watch list and wont be able to fly world wide.
If passenger safety is the primary goal....
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I don’t know ANYONE in the airline industry that would argue passenger saftey is a primary goal.
It’s all about the money.
Is smoking allowed in Federal prisons?
This freaking moron just caused Continental Airlines to lose thousands and the USG to spend thousands. My guess is $50,000 all together and more if he is tried and thrown in jail. No wonder we are broke
We have lots of deadwood that needs culling though it seems to usually be weirdo foreigners that create in flight incidents
Poor man doesn’t even have a name.
mohamed mustafa bin a dumbass
It wasn’t the cigarette that specifically was the problem. It was everything that transpired after the request to put it out. Place the blame on the passenger who became violent, not the crew. The crew did the right thing by removing a violent individual as quickly as possible from the flight. Bravo.
I've got a buddy who's addicted to 'chew'....he tried to quit a few years ago, by way of using the patch; but he admitted that he just started chewing the patch...
What a shame. Now, all the passengers will die.
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