Unruly flight passenger grabbed, spit on passengers, charges say
By Pat Reavy
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SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — A man is facing federal charges accusing him of causing a ruckus on a flight from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City by refusing to leave other passengers and the flight crew alone to the point he had to be restrained in his seat.
A federal complaint was filed against Darnel Silver Collins on Jan. 22 in Salt Lake City charging him with interfering with a flight crew and assault on an airplane.
On Jan. 21, authorities were notified “of an unruly and abusive male passenger” on Delta Flight 57 that was arriving in Salt Lake City from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands.
“Collins, a citizen or national of the Netherlands and a resident of the United States, had to be restrained by flight attendants and passengers due to his actions,” according to charging documents. “Witness statements reported that throughout the flight, Collins was loud, disruptive, threatening and abusive to other passengers and to crew members.”
Collins’ alleged disruptive behavior started about an hour into the 10-hour flight and continued to escalate. At one point, Collins began following another passenger, a woman, who asked a flight attendant for help, according to federal prosecutors.
“He continuously touched (the woman) and eventually she physically pushed her away from him,” the charges state.
Collins then approached a second woman as she was coming out of the restroom and grabbed her arm and would not let go until another passenger and flight attendants intervened, the charges allege.
The flight crew then moved eight passengers who were seated around Collins in an effort to avoid additional problems.
“Collins got onto his knees and turned around in the seat and began to speak with other passengers. This interaction became aggressive enough at one point that (a flight attendant) felt as though the altercation was going to go physical and intervened. Eventually Collins was moved to the very back row of the aircraft where flight attendants had to move another approximately 8-10 people to make room for him,” charging documents state.
But once he was seated in the back, Collins “intentionally spit” on a passenger and hit at least two people, the charges say. He then allegedly approached a flight attendant in the galley area, called her a derogatory name and said, “Are you speaking up now?”
Collins continued to touch passengers who walked by, according to investigators.
“Due to this continued unwanted touching of other passengers, Collins was physically restrained in flexicuffs by flight crew. Collins continued to unbuckle his seat belt and stand up and cause problems even after being restrained to the point where three seat belt extenders were connected together to put around his mid-section to keep him seated for the remainder of the flight (approximately two hours),” according to the charges.
Prosecutors say the flight crew had to make sure someone was with Collins for approximately nine hours of the 10-hour flight.
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