A man on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii had to be restrained in his seat with duct tape after becoming unruly during the flight on Friday.
Two U.S. fighter jets had to escort the commercial plane for landing because of the man’s behavior. The man was identified as Anil Tuvanc Uskanli, a Turkish national born in 1991.
Motives for his behavior are still unclear. Uskanli was detained upon landing and will likely face charges, including federal charges for interference with a flight crew, according to FBI Special Agent Paul Delacourt.
Uskanli was ultimately blocked from the first class section of the plane with a beverage cart after a flight attendant asked him to return to his seat as she saw him approaching, according to reports. When he would not stop pushing on the cart, passengers stepped in to restrain the man and duct taped him to his seat for the remainder of the flight.
Uskanli had supposedly been drinking but didn’t meet criteria for public drunkenness. He had been arrested earlier that day, before the flight even took off, at the Los Angeles Airport for opening a door that let onto an airfield ramp, the Los Angeles Police reported. He was allowed to get on the flight to Hawaii after he was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing and given a date to appear in court.
According to passengers, Uskanli was “disheveled-looking” upon exiting the airplane bathroom, and he attempted to try and sit in a first class seat before being told to sit in his assigned seat.
The cockpit called for help as Uskanil was contained, which is when two F-22 Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard scrambled to meet the plane.
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