BOSTON — An airline passenger who apparently became disoriented and tried to open a cabin door on a US Airways Express commuter jet from Maine to Philadelphia was arrested Thursday.
Massachusetts state police said 40-year-old Michael J. Ensalaco of Mooresville, N.C., was held on a charge of interfering with a flight crew and was being questioned.
Flight 3801, operated by Air Wisconsin, was diverted to Logan International Airport, airline spokesman Andrew Christie said. A flight attendant subdued the seemingly disoriented man and a passenger watched him until the plane landed safely at 4:30 p.m., he said.
Other passengers deplaned and were interviewed by police. The flight later was canceled and the passengers were being accommodated on other flights, Christie said.
Amee Downing, who answered a phone call to Ensalaco’s Charlotte-area home and said she was a neighbor speaking for his family, said he has had seizures before.
“This is the first time this has ever happened when he’s been traveling on business,” Downing said.
She said Ensalaco works in the food service industry and was headed home from a business trip.
The flight from Portland, Maine, was on a Canadair CRJ200 and had 50 passengers and three crew members.
US Airways Group Inc., the nation’s fifth-largest airline, is based in Tempe, Ariz.
The words “invade cockpit” seems a bit inflammatory considering the content of the article.
A commentary on a Boston news segment remarked that another passenger said the guy was embarrassed about the smell of his incontinence. True or not, he definitely needs his head examined!
If he had a seizure, he was probably more than a little disoriented and combative. When people have a siezure disorder they don’t always have the grand mal type. They still become disoriented and confused that’s one explaination as to why he tried to enter the cocpit of the plane. Have a little common sense. No terrorist attack to be seen here.
When I posted 11 hours ago, (and now with another story about it here), there was only a guy that tried to open an Exterior door and his mother said he had a history of seizures. It was reported on the 5 am Boston news that he’d crapped his pants somewhere along the line and was embarrassed.
Nowhere did I say he tried to get into the cockpit (many passengers interviewed said they weren’t even aware of a problem), NOR did I suggest that it was a terrorist attack, disoriented or combative! YOU have a little common sense before putting words in my mouth.
If he was having, about to have, or had a seizure, he may have instinctively been seeking help. I hope he got proper medical treatment in Boston and hopefully a wise prosecutor will see this as a medical emergency rather than an act of terror.
Oh, no, a disoriented man who tried to go to the bathroom and tried to open the cabin door! Quick, don’t use common sense, arrest him quickly so that you can go back to frisking grannies in wheel chairs to see if they have bombs in their depends.
This reminds me of the 4 year old who underwent a full frisking because she hugged her grandma last week. TSA explained that they had not finished wanding grandma, but were done with the kid. Kid ran to g-ma, hugged her, and set into motion an emergency. Really.
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/04/4-year-old-nearly-shuts-down-airport-as-tsa-agents-demand-they-frisk-the-crying-toddler-because-she-hugged-her-grandmother/