UPDATE: Flight Passenger Charged With Interfering With Crew

UPDATE 7:09 p.m.: A passenger who allegedly tried to ram a cockpit door with his shoulder on a San Francisco-bound airplane Sunday night was charged in federal court today with the crime of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

Rageh al-Murisi, 28, is due to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate James Larson in San Francisco at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on the charge filed by federal prosecutors.

Al-Murisi, who holds a Yemeni passport and a California identification card, was subdued by flight attendants and passengers after he allegedly sought to open the cockpit door of an American Airlines flight from Chicago as it neared San Francisco International Airport.

He was arrested by San Francisco police when the plane landed at 9:12 p.m.

The crime of interfering with flight crew members and attendants carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison upon conviction.

An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint by Federal Air Marshal Paul Howard gives more details of the incident, as described in an interview Howard held with the purser, or chief flight attendant.

Howard wrote that the purser said that at about 8:50 p.m., al-Murisi left his seat near the rear of the plane and walked to the first class section.

The purser saw al-Murisi approach the cockpit door and try to enter the cockpit by manipulating the door handles, Howard said.

The purser at first thought the passenger was looking for the restroom and told him twice that the restroom was to his left.

"The purser stated al-Murisi then made eye contact with him, lowered his left shoulder and rammed the cockpit door," the affidavit said.

The purser was able to get between al-Murisi and the door, but "al-Murisi kept yelling and pushing forward in an attempt to open the cockpit door."

"The purser grabbed al-Murisi and called for help," Howard wrote.

Several passengers responded and restrained al-Murisi as he "repeatedly attempted to break free and return to the cockpit door," the air marshal said.

San Mateo Police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez said earlier today that the purser was aided by another flight attendant and two passengers who were former law officers -- a retired U.S. Secret Service agent and a retired San Mateo police officer.

The flight attendants and retired officers wrestled al-Murisi to the floor and put him in plastic handcuffs, Rodriguez said.

After being arrested, al-Murisi was treated at San Mateo Medical Center for abrasions, Rodriguez said. No other people aboard the plane suffered injuries.

At his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday, al-Murisi will be informed of the charges and asked whether he has a lawyer. If he does not have a lawyer, he will be given a court-appointed attorney.

UPDATE 9 a.m.: A 28-year-old man was wrestled to the floor by flight attendants and passengers after he banged on the cockpit door andyelled  aboard a flight bound for San Francisco International Airport Sunday night, police said.

Rageig Almurisi was seated in the coach section of American Airlines Flight 1561 when he started to walk briskly toward the front of the plane within 30 minutes of its scheduled landing at SFO, San Francisco police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez said.

A flight attendant said it seemed he was going to the forward bathroom, Rodriguez said.

Once Almurisi walked past the first class section and the bathroom, the flight attendant asked him to sit back down, he said.

Almurisi ignored the order and started to yell unintelligibly and pound on the cockpit door, he said.

Two flight attendants and two passengers wrestled Almurisi to the ground, where they were able to subdue him and put him in plastic handcuffs, Rodriguez said.

He was placed in a nearby seat until the Boeing 737 landed at SFO at 9:12 p.m., he said.

San Francisco police were notified about the disturbance before the plane landed, and were waiting to take Almurisi into custody.

Because Almurisi struggled when he was wrestled to the floor, he had abrasions on his body, Rodriguez said.

Police took him to San Mateo County General Hospital for treatment before he was booked at the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City at about 1:30 a.m., he said.

Almurisi was charged with interfering with a flight crew, a federal offense.

At the time of his arrest, Almurisi was in possession of a Yemeni passport, as well as a California identification card, Rodriguez said.

No other people aboard the flight suffered any injuries.

The plane originated at LaGuardia Airport in New York and was headed to SFO from Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

The two passengers who helped subdue Almurisi both had a background in law enforcement, Rodriguez said.

One passenger was a retired U.S. Secret Service agent and the other was a retired San Mateo police officer.

The airport is operating normally and there are no delays, Rodriguez said.

"This seems to be an isolated incident and San Francisco police are doing everything to investigate the case," he said.

-- Bay City News

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