Passengers subdue man on Southwest flight
Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Posted: 1:54 PM EST (1854 GMT)


MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines flight helped wrestle a fellow passenger to the floor Tuesday night after he tried to force his way into the cockpit, law enforcement officials said.

The incident happened aboard Flight 2161, which was traveling from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to West Palm Beach, Florida.

Christopher Egyed, 37, made "threatening comments about the government" and tried to make his way into the cockpit, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesman Paul Miller said.

"He had been acting in an obnoxious way throughout the flight," Miller said.

Egyed exchanged punches with a flight attendant before passengers joined the scuffle and subdued him, authorities said.

"They used duct tape to tie him up," FBI spokeswoman Judy Orijuela said.

Egyed was charged with interfering with a flight crew, she said.

The pilot did not declare an emergency, and the plane landed without further incident at 9:45 p.m. ET in West Palm Beach.

Egyed was taken into custody when the plane landed. Authorities said he is unemployed and lives in Philadelphia.

Egyed was scheduled to appear Wednesday in federal court in Fort Pierce, officials said. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years behind bars.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/26/airplane.struggle/index.html