HONOLULU — A man accused of drunkenly shoving a flight attendant and threatening to kill people on a flight from Seattle to Maui has been ordered to get mental-health and substance-abuse evaluations.
A judge on Friday ordered Eric Matthew Schneider of Northern California to undergo the exam at a Honolulu halfway house. After that, he’ll be able to return home on $10,000 bond.
In a criminal complaint, the FBI said Schneider had a double tequila cocktail on a Delta Air Lines flight Monday and demanded more drinks.
Court documents say that passengers complained he threatened to kill them and that he pushed a flight attendant who tried to calm him down.
Schneider had a double tequila cocktail on the Delta Air Lines flight and demanded more alcoholic drinks, according to the bureau’s criminal complaint.
Two hours into the flight, passengers seated near him started pushing their call lights, complaining that he was making threats and wanting to move seats, the court documents said.
When a flight attendant tried to Schneider down, he became more agitated, swearing at the crew member, advancing on him and then pushing him.
Then, “when a nearby passenger tried to calm Schneider down, Schneider threatened to kill the passenger,” the complaint says.
The flight attendant followed Schneider to the galley area, where there was another physical confrontation, ending with Schneider falling into a passenger’s lap.
“Simultaneously, Schneider grabbed the curtain between the galley and the passenger seating area, and ripped it off its rings,” an FBI special agent wrote in the complaint.
When he was restrained with plastic handcuffs, he slid one of his hands out, the complaint said.
Public defender Peter Wolff said Schneider is sorry and doesn’t remember what happened.
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