A man named Stanley Dwayne Sheffield was detained for freaking out on an airplane. This is a pretty bizarre story and the details are still coming out, but it looks like Sheffield basically flipped out while sitting in first class. He grabbed a water bottle and started spraying everyone in the first class cabin and then started yelling that he was going to blow up the airplane. He even attempted to open the cabin door in order to bring the plane down. Note to would-be terrorists, it’s impossible to open a cabin door while the plane is in the air due to presssurization.
The more bizarre aspect of this incidence is that Sheffield kept yelling “Get behind me Satan” and “You need to land this plan or I’m going to blow it up”, then my personal favorite, “I will blow up this plane and take you all to hell with me”.
He was finally subdued by about 8 other men, including former baseball manager Kevin Kennedy, who immediately helped bring the man under control by using seat belts and plastic handcuffs to restrain him. Apparently Sheffield is a strong dude though, he actually broke through a pair of handcuffs and a seatbelt before he was finally subdued for good.
When looking for silver-linings from 9/11 one is that I think anyone who is onboard a plane who is threatening passengers, whether terrorist or mental case, they can almost guarantee a beat down by the passengers. This isn’t the first story I’ve heard since 9/11 where the passengers immediately acted to subdue someone who was threatening the plane. Good on you passengers, you’re true American heroes.
April 24th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
I would like to try and understand this gentlemen’s thought process behind his in-flight activities.
April 24th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I dont think theres any process here Brian. I wouldnt hope for any. Sure, every thought is a “process” but this is so bizzare it sounds reactionary to a lack of meds or maybe one of those Ambien nightmares.
April 24th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Yeah, even more strange is that one of the passengers had been talking to this guy before the flight about this exact issue. Apparently he was “with it” enough to discuss the issue and then just flipped out.
April 24th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
I worked in a mental hospital as an orderly many years ago, and someone who is in such a state of mind and has to be subdued can very often have superhuman strength. It might take three or four people to subdue even a small person. Whatever the individual is upset about is very real to them, a life-or-death struggle. It is important to remember that it’s not their fault. It’s a sickness, and it could happen to anyone. But for the grace of God there go I.
April 24th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
I remember a guy saying he felt something ominous was going to happen that very same night in a calm and friendly manner. An hour later he was trashing the place, breaking windows, just acting totally bizarre with glazed eyes and a shining face. Apparently his concious mind was in tune enough with his unconcious mind to predict a future breakdown. I wonder how that works. It was definitely the projective process in full throttle.
April 24th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
You’d be surprised how many nut jobs were surrounded by.
Whenever I drop off a junkie or an alky at the hospital theres always someone at emergency in straps going thru a psych eval. As long as they dont threaten to harm themselves or anyone else the hospital cant really hold them. The shrink can hold em at least 3 days on his word but usually they’re given a script and left to their own to devices the ame day.
Half, maybe a third of the clients in the ward are there because they stopped taking they’re meds.
You never really know who you’re standing next to
April 24th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
A lot of that is been the amount of denial Americans have been in when it comes to treating mental illness as briskly as regular medical illness. Why? Because most health insurance policies won’t cover mental illness anyhwere near what it covers regular illnesses. This loss of money making frankly, has just pushed it off the radar. Many drinkers and druggers are self treating their mental illness. Mental illness, in many, is a transient thing, waxing and wanning, or just temporarily. It isn’t all chronic. Starting sometime in July of this year Health Care Reform will make it mandatory health insurance policies cover mental illnesses in a similar fashion as good ole traditonal diabetes or heart diseasae. This will profoundly change who gets care now. Its visibility will go way up. Drofmindmd on Youtube has plenty of useful videos regarding this complicated and oft ignorded subject.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Wow, I can’t believe I’m writing this … but I agree with Klo. I have seen it take 3 or 4 men to manage a psychotic small woman. People who are psychotic can and often do have superhuman strength.
Also, they often weave religiosity into their delusions (ie: ‘Get thee behind me Satan’). The fact that he was discussing a similar scenario with another passenger before he flipped-out just means that was on his mind when he went into his psychotic break. Probably not his first episode (depending on his age) – anything could have set it off, perhaps just anxiety related to flying. Probably off his meds.
Again I have to agree with Klo – ‘but for the Grace of God, there go I’.