Meet the passengers who asked to leave Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39
PORTLAND, Ore. - It was a tense moment on a Hawaiian Airlines flight out of Portland Wednesday morning as the pilot of a full flight, headed to Maui, made the decision to head back to PDX.
The FBI said it all centered around a 56-year-old man from Salem, who refused to stow his carry-on baggage. That baggage, a large duffel bag, and "threatening remarks" were enough to get the man - and his traveling companion - off the flight. The incident comes at a time when airlines throughout the world are tightening restrictions after a Christmas Day bombing attempt on a plane flying into the Detroit airport.
At the Portland International Airport, at least three of the 231 passengers on that flight say they decided to leave the flight because of that scare in the air. (The flight also had 10 crew members on board.)
The deboarding passengers say the flight, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39, was over the Pacific Ocean when the pilot made an announcement that turned out to be a lie.
"The pilot said that we have a mechanical issue, and we need to turn around just for safety," said Jeff Payne, one Flight 39 passenger who deboarded in Portland. "So we turn around, come back and land - it was kind of a bumpy landing - and once we landed we saw fire trucks. They were following us up to the entrance to the airport ... and I was very worried."
Another deboarding passenger, Michelle Yturri, said "It happened so quickly. We looked up, the police were on there, next thing you know, the baggage was being taken" off the plane.
Payne, Yturri and one other passenger insisted on getting off the plane. They said they were shaken too much to continue on to Hawaii.
The plane, meanwhile, was searched and cleared. After two hours on the ground, Flight 39 took off again.
The Transportation Security Administration has confirmed that a detained passenger made "suspicious remarks" and "refused to put his duffel bag in the overhead compartment."
KATU has yet to receive word as to what was in this man's carry-on. However, refusing to comply with a flight attendant's request was expected to be a federal offense, according to ABC News. However, the man and his companion were interviewed and then released by 5 p.m. Wednesday. The man's name is not being released because he was not charged.
The case is, however, being referred to the United States Attorney General's Office.