A man who tried to open a plane's exit door because he needed to "get off" mid-air was federally charged Friday for assaulting and intimidating a flight attendant.
The incident happened on Nov. 19, roughly two hours into an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas. According to court documents, Abdul-al-Jabbar Oloruntoba Olaiya, 29, became frustrated while the flight attendant was working in the plane's kitchen area.
Witnesses stated that Olaiya intimidated the flight attendant, asserting that he was the "captain" of the flight and needed to exit the aircraft. When the flight attendant positioned herself to block the exit door, Olaiya lunged at her, hurting her in the process.
Three male passengers rushed towards Olaiya and subdued him by duct-taping his wrists and ankles. With 30 minutes left to the flight, the pilot decided to continue to the destination, Dallas. Upon arrival, Olaiya was removed from the plane by officers and taken in for a mental evaluation.
Fox 4 interviewed one of the three passengers who helped restrain Olaiya. Charlie Boris, from Wisconsin, told the news outlet, "everyone just really helped and put together effort, and we all get to go to Thanksgiving."
A photo shared of the three men shows one with a visible lip injury, although it is not specified if the injury occurred during the incident.
Olaiya was officially arrested on Tuesday, Nov. 26 and made his initial appearance in court. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
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