LI Man Disrupts American Airlines Flight, Diverts Plane, Officials Say
WICHITA, Kan. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island man will likely face charges after causing an American Airlines plane to divert its flight from Phoenix to New York -- and instead landing in Wichita, Kansas, according to prosecutors.
Jason Baroletti, 38, of Holbrook, was arrested by law enforcement officials after Flight 622 landed in Wichita on Tuesday night, the airline said.
Bill McCarthy, a member of New York-based alternative rock band Augustines, was on the flight. He said Baroletti was "threatening to kill people around him,'' according to a statement.
Whoa. Emergency landing in Witchita. Passenger threatening the plane that he wants to kill people. Bad scene.
— AUGUSTINES???? (@WeAreAugustines) November 4, 2015
He tweeted a photo of police on the plane in Wichita. Upon landing, "police swarmed the plane'' and detained 'a man in a red jacket,' according to McCarthy's statement.
Baroletti was booked on suspicion of criminal threat, and the district attorney's office confirmed that inmate was being held for federal authorities, according to the Sedgwick County, Kansas jail booking log.
FBI spokesman Bridget Patton said the agency was notified and responded, which is normal protocol whenever there is an incident during a flight, but she declined to provide specific details.
The flight left Wichita a few hours later and landed in New York shortly before midnight Tuesday.
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