'Unruly Passenger' Causes American Airlines Flight To Be Diverted Over Faulty Phone Charger, Faces Charges
An 'unruly passenger' who caused an American Airlines flight from Tokyo to Dallas to be diverted to Seattle last week after her phone charger stopped working, is now facing a federal charge.
An 'unruly passenger' who caused an American Airlines flight from Tokyo to Dallas to be diverted to Seattle last week after her phone charger stopped working, is now facing a federal charge.
According to a report in KIRO-7 News citing court documents, Waka Suzuki boarded the flight with her mother at Narita International Airport in Japan, bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Three or four hours into the flight over the Pacific Ocean, Suzuki allegedly became "hostile and belligerent" over a faulty seat charger, which escalated to the point where the woman shoved crew members on the flight and then pounded on the cockpit door, prosecutors said.
The incident caused a lockdown, forcing the pilot to land the plane in Seattle.
As per the report, 60 passengers and 13 crew members were on the flight.
The charging documents revealed that Suzuki had asked a flight attendant for help to charge her phone but became angry when the phone did not charge. She reportedly began yelling at the crew on the flight.
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Prosecutors said she ran toward the front of the plane after becoming unhappy with the crew¡¯s additional attempts to help her. The woman reportedly shoved crew members and stomped on their feet, running toward the cockpit.
It was said that when Suzuki got to the door, she began pounding on it and yelled for help to charge her phone.
The court records stated that the flight attendants attempted several more times to calm Suzuki but she continued yelling and did not comply with the attendants. This prompted the crew to notify the Federal Aviation Administration about the incident and a Level Three lockdown was initiated, forcing the pilot to divert the plane to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
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During the flight, the woman was placed in flex cuffs by crew members after she assaulted them.
When the plane landed in Seattle, the woman reportedly stayed on the plane for nearly 30 minutes, refusing to get off.
Port of Seattle police and US Customs and Border Protection agents were waiting for her.
After getting off the plane, the woman was interviewed by customs officials and reportedly admitted she got angry over the faulty charger. She reportedly said the flight attendants were ¡°rude and dismissive.¡±
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