A Bonney Lake resident is being charged with interfering with a flight crew after forcing a Los Angeles-bound plane to divert to Portland due to his drug-fueled behavior.
According to court documents from the United State District Court in Oregon, Douglas Braden Smyser, 21, boarded his flight from Seattle to L.A. on Feb. 13 in order to check into a drug rehabilitation program in Malibu.
However, before he got on the plane, Smyser ate some methamphetamine, rather than injecting it, he told law officers after his arrest.
At first, he felt fine, but once on the plane, became suspicious and paranoid.
The captain of the flight was alerted to Smyser’s behavior even before the plane took off, when Smyser had thrown his backpack into the aisle, though he denied the bag was his. The bag started vibrating, alarming crew members and passengers alike, but it was revealed to have been an electric razor.
After 20 minutes of flight time, the captain was alerted that Smyser was pacing the aisle and refusing to sit down.
According to a crew member, it was around this time Smyser approached her and said, “someone has a gun in the back row of the plane… let’s just keep this between us.”
Smyser later told law officers he did tell a crew member about believing he saw a firearm on board.
Smyser was still pacing the aisles and hanging around the galley area when the captain first announced they were diverting to Portland.
It was at this time Smyser told a male crew member he wanted to go up to first class. The crew member told Smyser to sit down, which Smyser refused at first, but was convinced after five passengers confronted him, documents read.
However, while approaching Portland, Smyser again stood up to pace, and became “loud and started provoking other passengers.” It was at this time a passenger physically took Smyser to his seat and sat on him to keep him there as the plane landed.
Smyser later told officers that he was trying to get to the cockpit to “get ‘help,” documents read.
According to the minutes of Smyser’s first court appearance, he was released to be driven to a 90-day drug treatment program in Malibu, and arraignment was set for March 14 in Portland.
Interference with a flight crew is a federal crime, punishable by a fine and up to 20 years in prison.
It’s been reported Smyser is also facing charges of menacing behavior and second-degree disorderly conduct, but the United States Attorney’s Office said these charges were not filed yet by the state or Oregon as of Thursday, Feb. 21.
This story originally appeared in The Courier Herald, a sibling paper of The Daily Herald.
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