Mid-air scare for SkyWest Airlines: Unruly passenger tries to open emergency exit, threatens to kill flight attendant
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Man threatens to kill flight attendant, open emergency exit mid-air.
A man on SkyWest Airlines shoved a flight attendant, threatened to kill him and tried to open the emergency exit. Passengers said he had been unruly since the start of the flight and was a nuisance all the time.
A man threatened to kill a flight attendant on a flight from Omaha to Detroit on Thursday evening. The captain had to make an emergency landing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Mario Nikprelaj of Elkhorn, Nebraska, was arrested by the police. Officials and other passengers said that the 23-year-old shoved the attendant and also tried to open the emergency exit door when the plane was mid-air. It was a small plane run by SkyWest Airlines, an independent carrier that operates regional jets for Delta Air Lines as Delta Connection. Flight 3612 had about 67 passengers on board at the time of the incident. The man was charged with assault and disorderly conduct, among other things. Passengers said that Nikprelaj has been behaving poorly ever since the flight took off. Also Read: Bizarre finding shows airplanes are triggering rain and snow. Here's how
He tried to open the emergency exit
He removed his seat belt and stood up when the plane was taking off. Jonathan Spencer Van der Waarden told the New York Times that he scared everyone when he lunged at the emergency exit gate while drinks were being served. He recalled that the action prompted another passenger to call for help. "Hey, we need help back here! He’s trying to open the door," a passenger shouted. The pilot soon announced that the plane was being diverted to Cedar Rapids because of an unruly passenger. However, Nikprelaj's antics did not stop there, and he went to the front of the plane when the plane was landing and fought with some passengers. When the crew asked him to return to his seat, he clashed with them as well. Also Read: Man sneaks his wife into Business Class for sleep time, leaving flight attendant stumped
Anti-anxiety pills found on man
A video from inside the plane shows police officers taking away a man in handcuffs. The plane remained on the tarmac for two hours as passenger and crew statements were recorded. SkyWest Airlines confirmed the diversion in a statement, adding that it was “due to an unruly customer”. The plane left for Detroit after Nikprelaj was taken away. He was charged with harassment, unlawful possession of prescription medication and a failure to affix a proper tax stamp on 41 pills of Alprazolam. According to a criminal complaint filed on Friday by the Linn County assistant attorney, the anti-anxiety drug, sold under the name Xanax, was found on him at the time of arrest.
