Plane Makes Emergency Landing In Windsor Locks Due To Disruptive Passenger: U.S. Attorney

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — A Kansas resident was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in connection with his actions aboard a Chicago-bound flight shortly after takeoff from Bradley International Airport Tuesday night.

Julius Jordan Priester 24, of Wichita, was charged with with interference with flight crew members and attendants, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, according to David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Court documents and statements made in court indicate Priester was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 3359 which departed the airport around 9:30 p.m. Thirty minutes to an hour into the flight, Priester stood up, began to take off his shirt, then ran to the back of the plane yelling, “Help me.” He then grabbed a seated flight attendant, shouted, “You’re coming with me,” and forcefully brought the victim to the ground, Sullivan said.

Priester attempted to drag the attendant up the aisle, but some passengers intervened and he was returned to his seat, where he continued to act erratically and made incoherent statements. The captain declared an emergency, and the flight was diverted back to Bradley. After the plane landed safely, Priester was removed by Connecticut State Police and taken by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation, Sullivan said.

Priester appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford, and is detained pending a bond hearing Friday, according to Sullivan.