Man threatened flight attendant, attempted to open emergency exit door, court documents state
By Jake Anderson
Click here for updates on this story
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KETV) — The Nebraska man accused of trying to open an emergency exit door during a flight was officially charged in federal court.
Mario Nikprelaj is charged in federal court with interference with flight crew members and attendants during the incident.
Last week, Nikprelaj was arrested after a flight from Omaha made an emergency landing in Iowa.
SkyWest Airlines says Flight 3612, operating as a Delta Connection from Omaha, was heading to Detroit when it was diverted. Eppley Airfield’s website shows a Delta flight with that number leaving for Detroit around 5:25 p.m.
According to court documents, Nikprelaj boarded the flight with no checked baggage or carry-on luggage and was traveling on a one-way ticket.
Before the aircraft departed, a flight attendant notified the captain of an unruly passenger seated in the exit row, but they were able to “satisfactorily control the situation,” court documents state.
According to court documents, Nikprelaj left his seat before the flight reached 10,000 feet and made an obscene gesture toward flight attendants before returning to his seat, and appeared to be falling asleep. The flight continued as planned.
Court documents state that Nikprelaj was attempting to open the aircraft’s emergency exit door and fighting with a flight attendant and other passengers.
He pushed and threatened to kill a flight attendant who attempted to stop him from opening the emergency door, according to court documents.
Cedar Rapids police booked him into the Linn County Correctional Center on disorderly conduct, assault, possession of prescription medication, tax stamp and first-degree harassment.
In a statement about the matter, SkyWest said, “SkyWest has zero tolerance for unruly behavior as safety for our customers and crew is our top priority.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
