SALT LAKE CITY, Utah Jan. 3, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A JetBlue flight en route from San Francisco to JFK International was forced to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City Wednesday night due to an unruly passenger.
According to control tower conversations obtained by Gephardt Daily, JetBlue Flight B6916 was flying over northern Utah at about 6:30 p.m. when pilots notified air traffic controllers at SLC International Airport of an in-flight emergency.
The Airbus A321-231 passenger plane was cruising at an altitude of 36,100 feet and traveling at 570 mph when the incident took place.
According to a probable cause statement filed by Salt Lake City police, an obviously intoxicated passenger, identified as Brian Regan, 53, became enraged when a flight attendant refused to serve him more alcohol. Witnesses told police Regan began “banging” on TV monitors before grabbing the flight attendant by the face and calling her a “fucking idiot.”
It took pilots 20 minutes to land. Once the plane taxied to the gate, Regan was seen staggering as he left the aircraft.
“When officers on scene asked Brian be seated, he became physically combative and had to be assisted to the ground,” according to a probable cause statement. He was subsequently tased and officers managed to “gain compliance.”
Regan was escorted to a waiting patrol vehicle, according to SLCPD investigators, where he allegedly spit in an officer’s face while being seat-belted into the back of the car.
Regan was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of assaulting a police officer, interfering with an arresting officer, disorderly conduct and intoxication.
