DALLAS — A man who injured a flight attendant as he tried to exit a plane mid-air on a flight from Milwaukee to DFW Airport last week has been federally charged, officials said.
The man, Abdul-al-Jabbar Oloruntoba Olaiya, 29, is charged with interfering with a flight crew by assault or intimidation, federal officials said.
A flight attendant told police the man, later identified as Olaiya, got up during the flight Nov. 19 and told a flight attendant working in the forward galley that he needed to get off the plane, according to a police report.
Specifically, witnesses told law enforcement they heard Olaiya tell the flight attendant he was “captain of this flight” and needed to “get off the plane,” officials said.
The man grew louder and more agitated before rushing the flight attendant in an attempt to access the cabin door, according to the report.
Three passengers went to the galley area to help the flight attendant, pinned Olaiya’s wrists down and duct-taped his wrists and ankles to restrain him, officials said.
The pilots decided to continue to DFW with only about 30 minutes left in the flight, according to officials.
Upon landing, Olaiya was taken off the plane by officers and taken for a mental health evaluation, officials said.
According to the report, the flight attendant’s wrist and neck were injured during the altercation and the flight attendant was taken to a hospital.
If convicted, Olaiya faces up to 20 years in federal prison, according to federal officials.
The FBI’s Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation.
