Unruly passenger tries to break into cockpit

US jets scramble to escort flight after the Turkish man was restrained and ducttaped to his seat

Two US fighter jets were summoned on Friday to escort a flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii after an unruly man was subdued by passengers and flight attendants, who used a drink cart to block him from the front of the plane.

The man, identified by law enforcement officials as Anil Uskanil, 25, of Turkey, was duct-taped to his seat until the plane landed in Honolulu and federal agents boarded the plane and arrested him, passenger Lee Lorenzen said.

“The flight attendants just were really heroic,” Lorenzen said. “By the time we landed and the FBI took him into custody, he was very mellow.”

American Airlines Flight 31 had 181 passengers and six crew members aboard, said airline spokeswoman Katie Cody, who did not provide details of the incident.

The trouble with Uskanil actually began about eight hours before the flight departed. He was arrested before dawn at Los Angeles International Airport for opening a door that led onto an airfield ramp, according to Los Angeles Airport Police, who provided Uskanil’s identity to AP.

Police say Uskanil had been drinking but didn’t meet the criteria for public drunkenness. He was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanour trespassing, given a date to appear in court and allowed to take the flight to Honolulu.

Passengers noticed him before the plane even took off.

Mark and Donna Basden were among the first to board the plane and found a laptop in the seat pocket of Mark Basden. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, couple assumed it was from the previous flight.

A flight attendant said it must belong to a man in the bathroom. Then a “dishevelled looking fellow” walked out, Donna Basden said.

About halfway through the six-hour flight, the Basdens saw the same man, holding his laptop, with something over his head, which they thought was a towel or a blanket.

The flight attendant ran down the aisle with her serving cart and blocked the doorway separating first class from the rest of the plane. The man was pushing against the cart, to get through when passengers came up from behind and grabbed him. He was restrained with duct tape for the rest of the flight.