On Tuesday, November 26th, 2024, the Department of Justice announced that it would be filing charges against a man who had attempted to exit an aircraft midair during a scheduled American Airlines flight last week. This man, who was identified by Department of Justice (DOJ) documents as Abdul-al-Jabbar Oloruntoba Olaiya, has been federally charged, according to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton.
This man, who is 29 years old and sustained minor injuries as a result of the incident, was charged with interfering with the flight crew by assault or intimidation while onboard an aircraft under the jurisdiction of the United States. According to court documents, the incident in question took place on November 19th, about two hours into a flight from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
For more details on this incident, please see Simple Flying’s original report on the incident. American Airlines has yet to respond to Simple Flying’s request for comment regarding the matter.
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The charges filed today could result in a lengthy legal proceeding
The charges that have been filed constitute a criminal complaint, which serves as an allegation of criminal conduct but is not necessarily evidence. The Department of Justice described the situation as follows in a public press release:
“A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Olaiya is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
If Olaiya is convicted by a jury, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fallas Fort Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation that took place last week. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas has been identified as the prosecutor for this case.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
The incident’s details are now more clear
In earlier reports, the exact details of how this incident took place remained somewhat unclear. However, newer DOJ documents have helped clarify some lingering questions regarding what exactly happened onboard.
During the incident, Mr. Olaiya reportedly became frustrated with a flight attendant who was working in the forward galley. The exact reasons for this are not quite clear at this time. According to witness reports obtained by law enforcement officials, Olaiya told the flight attendant that he was “captain of this flight” and that he needed to “get off the plane,” rhetoric which led her to stand in between the unruly passenger and the door.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
According to DOJ documents, it was at this point that Olaiya charged the flight attendant in an attempt to open the aircraft door, who was currently shielding the floor from the passenger and was later injured in the following altercation. Multiple other passengers rushed to the flight attendant’s aid and subdued Olaiya using duct tape on his wrists and ankles.
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The aircraft, which was only about 30 minutes from Dallas at the time, decided to continue with their approach and requested priority landing and taxi from the tower. Once the aircraft landed, Olaiya was immediately removed from the cabin by police officers and subjected to a medical examination.