Passenger who said he was ‘captain of this flight’ arrested in assault on plane to DFW
A passenger who injured an American Airlines flight attendant while trying to exit a plane in mid-air has been federally charged, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Abdul-al-Jabbar Oloruntoba Olaiya, 29, has been charged with interfering with a flight crew by assault or intimidation after the alleged attack on board a flight that landed at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Nov. 19.
About two hours into the flight from Milwaukee to DFW, Olaiya became frustrated with the flight attendant, who was working in the forward galley, according to court documents.
Witnesses told law enforcement they heard Olaiya tell the attendant he was “captain of this flight” and needed to “get off the plane,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said in a news release.
Olaiya allegedly charged the flight attendant in an attempt to access the plane’s exit door. The attendant used her body to shield the door and was injured in the scuffle, authorities said.
Other passengers rushed to help the employee, and they subdued Olaiya and restrained him by duct-taping his wrists and ankles, according to a DFW Airport police report.
With about 30 minutes left in the flight, the pilots decided to continue to DFW Airport and called the tower for priority landing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
After the plane landed, police officers responded and removed Olaiya, who was taken to have a mental evaluation, authorities said.
The flight attendant was taken to a hospital with injuries to her neck and wrist, according to the police report.
If Olaiya is eventually convicted on the charge, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI’s Dallas Field Office and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation.
“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we thank our team members and customers for managing a difficult situation,” Fort Worth-based American Airlines said in a statement.
