Passenger’s quest for beer forced flight to divert, feds say
COURTESY ALASKA AIR
PORTLAND, Ore. » A passenger who authorities say forced an Alaska Airlines flight to be diverted after he didn’t get a beer has pleaded not guilty in Portland, Oregon, to a charge of interfering with a flight crew.
A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday says 32-year-old Luke Watts of Portland threatened to become violent if flight attendants didn’t serve him a beer during a March flight from Sacramento, California, to Seattle.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Tolkoff says Watts then locked himself in the bathroom and screamed and pounded on the door. He also demanded hugs from flight attendants.
Concerned about the potential for violence, the pilot decided to land in Portland.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta on Tuesday allowed Watts to remain free while awaiting trial.
18 responses to “Passenger’s quest for beer forced flight to divert, feds say”
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He didn’t need a beer since he was probably drunk.
all this Before he became the head of National Imaging Associates!! LOL
too many drunks flying now. Air rage is as real as road rage.
“He demanded hugs from the flight attendants”…..too bad he wasn’t tasered instead….
Send him to the can, he can get all the hugs he wants!
Another millennial who didn’t get what they wanted. WAH!
Exactly! The millennials are all a bunch of self entitled lazy bums. Every time I get a resume on my desk from a millennial I cringe since most have been let go or quit because we aren’t going to throw a $1.5 million dollar sign-on or severance package and provide free laundry services like Google does.
hey! some os work…
That’s what the airline industry gets for even considering serving liquor on flights. They take the risk of these crazy customers.
put the man on the no fly list
A beer and a hug would’ve been a reasonable request at a hostess bar. Right Billy?
And my acquaintances ask why I have an aversion to getting on plane…or The Bus…or…won’t The Rail be an adventure. BTW drinking is fine, however in excess to the point of being drunk is not and self medication is not an excuse.
Hilarious. He said: “If I can’t get a beer, I need hugs from the flight attendants. If not, I am going to lock myself in the bathroom, scream, pound on the door and cry for my mommy !”. What an 32-year old idiot !
Why didn’t they just give him or SELL him a beer? Don’t airlines serve beer and other alcoholic drinks on flights or have they discontinued that on domestic flights. It would have been a lot cheaper than diverting the flight.
Give in once then they will demand more, and just get worse.
They’re (reasonably) not allowed to serve alcohol to someone who’s obviously inebriated.
Let the”takedown” fit the crime. Jeopardize the safety of all passengers? Take him down, hog tie that buggah and sequester him. I hope he pays for his actions. Was there a marshal on the aircraft?
The judge let this nut job back on the streets?