Keith Wright disrobed during a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Los Angeles, California. When the man got naked, the US Airways flight diverted to Albuquerque, New Mexico where the man was escorted off the plan in nothing but handcuffs. Read about it below.
US Airways Flight Diverted
Cross continental flights can be tedious, so its no wonder that people who are already a tad stressed, shall we say, have a hard time dealing with those long, crowded flights. Thus is the case of 50-year-old Keith Wright. He explained his behavior by telling the FBI that he’s bipolar and hadn’t taken his meds. That’s probably not the wisest decision for someone taking a long flight. On the other hand, wise decisions are not a marker for bipolar disorder.
They say an uneventful trip is a good trip. Yesterday evening’s US Airways Flight 705 was very eventful. First, there was a medical emergency which was the original reason for the flight being diverted to land in Albuquerque. Then, to exacerbate the already tense situation on board the flight, Wright decided to disrobe. Completely.
He stripped naked where he sat in the back of the plane. A flight attendant asked him to put his clothes back on repeatedly and he ignored her. She then attempted to cover him with a blanket that he immediately took back off. It seems he didn’t like that a bit and fought with the flight attendant. He got violent, kicking and hitting her. She asked two off-duty law enforcement officers who were on board for assistance. They subdued and handcuffed Wright, restraining him while the flight diverted to New Mexico.
Keith Wright is from Bronx, New York. He had flown to Charlotte earlier in the day, connecting to the flight to Los Angeles. He had been seen in the passenger boarding area dancing. Flight Service Supervisor Claudia Kearney approached him to check him out. He told her at that time that he had drank one beer. She reported that she didn’t smell alcohol on him and made the decision he was well enough to travel.
The Captain announced to the 148 passengers on the flight that there was a violent passenger on board and they’d be making an unscheduled stop in Albuquerque. Passengers reported that Wright was escorted off the plane completely naked except for the handcuffs he was wearing. I can only imagine the giggles the ensued.
Passengers also reported that after the sick passenger and the violent passenger had been removed from the plane, the Captain announced they were taking off to complete their journey to Los Angeles. The message included; ‘a reminder to everybody to please keep your clothing on. It got a couple chuckles.’
Wright was remanded to federal custody on charges of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. He will be appearing before a federal court in Albuquerque on Thursday for disrobing during flight and causing the US Airways flight to be diverted.
Well, that would have to have been a better show than the usual movies on those flights.
The lesson of this story is that it doesn’t pay to get naked on a crowded plane.
Oh - and you know there are photos!!
September 29th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Почитал. Как говорится, сколько людей, столько мнений. Не соглашусь ни с одними, ни с другими
September 30th, 2009 at 1:43 am
oh I had guessed bipolar. they often go off their meds when they feel better or the side effects are troubling, and travel is very disconcerting to them and they get a pronounced jet lag very easily that can throw them totally off. I think the woman the phoenix airport police shackeled and left unattended who choked to death had something like that going on as well. that airpot needs a nurse on duty or paramedics to evaluate poeple like that right at the beginning so they can be sent to the hospital rahther than be shackeled to death by ignorant authorities.
September 30th, 2009 at 4:51 am
Man, one more thing to add to my bucket list. I think I would frame my arrest report after a stunt like that.
(On a more serious note, I agree with Brian that it’s not necessarily appropriate to react to every airport/airplane incident by shackling people up. I obviously understand why we have an itchy trigger finger with that topic, but the vast majority of people have no intention of causing any harm while traveling.)