Cheap fares and cheap discount hotel rooms were of little comfort on Sunday, January 31st, when a US Airways flight that had departed from Philadelphia on its way to Los Angeles was diverted to Pittsburgh because of an unruly passenger.
The San Francisco passenger responsible for this incident told the FBI that he was high on a double dose of medical marijuana cookies when he allegedly attacked crew members.
According to crewmembers, Kinman Chan, age 30, made strange gestures before entering the planes rear restroom shortly after takeoff. After closing the restrooms door he started screaming.
As Chen exited the restroom the crew saw that his pants were down, his shirt was untucked and all the compartments in the restroom were opened.
When crewmembers attempted to get Chan to sit, he fought back and had to be restrained in a choke hold. Chan was arrested when the plane landed at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
He was charged in a criminal complaint with interfering with the duties of a flight attendant. Chan was jailed until a federal magistrate released him on bond on Tuesday, February 2nd. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office in Pittsburg, Chan has a legally issued medical marijuana card for a legitimate health issue.
Maybe the lesson to be learned here is that getting high while flying is not advisable.