Unruly USA - Curt Lewis

  

Frontier flight crew uses zip ties, saran wrap to restrain unruly passenger, feds say

A Frontier Airlines plane landed nearly 600 miles from its intended destination after the flight crew and fellow passengers were forced to restrain an unruly passenger, federal officials said.

Michael Aaron Ganter grew “increasingly disruptive” and was arrested on federal charges after prosecutors say he threatened attendants and others on board a flight from New York to Orlando on Feb. 9, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Flight 1335 was scheduled to arrive at Orlando International Airport that evening, court documents show, but was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport after Ganter caused a commotion about an hour into the plane ride.

He had just woken from a nap when passengers said Ganter began making “concerning statements,” including claims “that his DNA was being collected,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by McClatchy News. He proceeded to hurl threats at people seated near him, authorities said, including a mother and her child.

“Ganter stated that he was from the Indian Tribe ‘Slapahoe’ and that he was going to slap people and beat them to death,” authorities wrote in the complaint.

He sprung from his seat as flight crew and fellow passengers approached, authorities said. Ganter continued to struggle as they placed zip ties on his hands and used saran wrap to bind his feet.

Raleigh-Durham airport officers boarded the flight and whisked Ganter away after it landed at 7:45 p.m., court documents show. He was taken to WakeMed in Raleigh for evaluation and arrested by FBI agents after his release.

A public defender assigned to Ganter did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment Thursday, Feb. 17.

U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said Ganter’s arrest is part of a larger effort by federal officials to crack down on disruptive and unruly behavior that threatens the safety of airline passengers and staff.

It comes after the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it forwarded 80 cases of unruly passengers to the FBI for criminal review. There have been 499 reports of disruptive passengers so far this year, according to the agency’s website, 324 of which were face mask-related.

“Passengers who threaten violence in the close confines of a commercial aircraft put everyone in danger,” Easley said in a statement. “My office will continue to aggressively prosecute federal crimes in the skies and ensure the safety of the flying public. ... No passenger, flight crew, or flight attendant should have to fly in fear.”

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