JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A passenger on an international flight was arrested after the plane made an emergency landing at Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) Wednesday for assaulting several flight attendants, a federal charging affidavit says.
Oliver Charlie Halliday Gee, 34, of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, was reportedly unruly prior to the arrest and prevented several flight attendants from doing their job because he was hurling insults and obscenities and other passengers.
Nearly 90 minutes into the flight, Gee escalated and threatened to kill another passenger, hurt a 3-year-old and then removing his clothes to expose his penis. The charging affidavit from the FBI says it seemed like he was about to wee in the plane's cabin.
At this point, a passenger who said he was skilled in martial arts stepped in to help get Gee to the bathroom but was promptly slapped several times across the face with an open hand. A flight attendant was slapped twice as well - once in the face and once in the thigh, both times with an open hand, the charging affidavit says.
Eventually, the flight attendant and the passenger trained in martial arts were able to subdue Gee and get him in his seat just before the flight touched down at JIA.
The charging affidavit mentions that the crew was worried about keeping Gee on the Condor 2115 flight, because the flight was from Cancun, Mexico to Frankfurt, Germany and most of it would take place over water. They weren't sure they would be able to stop and get the man off the plane while over the Atlantic Ocean.
Gee was taken into custody by Jacksonville Aviation Authority Police and is charged with assault or intimidation of a flight crew. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
He made his appearance in federal court on Thursday and will be detained until his formal detention hearing Nov. 7.
