Man pulled off plane for ruckus faces federal charges

PORTLAND, Ore. - Federal officials have indicted a 19-year-old man on charges of interfering with a flight crew following an incident aboard a Continental flight on Tuesday. The flight was diverted back to Portland.

According to court papers, Yazeed Mohammed A. Abunayyan, 19, refused to stop using an electronic cigarette despite being asked to do so by crew members on Continental Flight 1118 from Portland to Houston.

He was due in court Wednesday afternoon in Portland.

According to the indictment, Abunayyan is accused of "refusing to stop smoking or relinquish an electronic cigarette at the request of the member or attendant, yelling profanities and swinging his fist at the flight attendant, hitting or attempting to hit several passengers, and speaking or singing about Usama bin Laden and his hatred of women."

A resulting argument and struggle with a flight attendant prompted several other people on the plane to leave their seats to assist the flight attendant and restrain Abunayyan.

"Every guy that was in my area was ready to go," passenger Mark Foster said. "You could tell: buckles were off, people were leading towards the aisles."

The pilot diverted the flight back to Portland and Abunayyan and another man were taken off the plane by security personnel. Abunayyan was interviewed by Port of Portland Police and Federal authorities. The flight then resumed without incident without Abunayyan. The other man taken off the plane was not identified.

The incident on the flight from Portland came after Abunayyan was involved in a slow-speed chase in Ashland on Sunday that damaged two patrol cars, according to the Ashland Daily Tidings. One of the patrol cars involved was from the nearby town of Talent.

In that incident, police told the newspaper that Abunayyan drove his car the wrong way down a street, tried to hit a pedestrian and led police through town at speeds between 15 and 40 mph.

Abunayyan was placed in the Jackson County Jail on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, eluding police, two charges of first-degree criminal mischief, three charges of hit and run, six charges of reckless endangerment, and two charges of assault on an officer.

Jackson County jail officials said Abunayyan was released after he paid $6,500 of his $65,000 bail.