ORLANDO, Fla. — A Michigan man was arrested in Orlando Tuesday after authorities say he harassed the crew of a Spirit Airlines flight, preventing them from performing their duties.
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According to a complaint filed in federal court, a Federal Air Marshal and a Customs and Border Protection Officer responded to gate 23 at Orlando International Airport at 10 a.m. Tuesday in response to a notification from the Orlando Police Department about an incident on board Spirit Airlines flight 693.
According to the complaint, Task Force Officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were told that, approximately an hour into the flight, a passenger named James Warren Finnister asked the lead flight attendant if she wanted to join the “mile high club.”
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According to the complaint, Finnister was originally assigned to seat 18D, but never sat in it. At the time of his initial interaction with the flight attendant, he had been assigned to 22A, a window seat.
According to the report, during a second interaction with the flight crew, Finnister intentionally grabbed a female flight attendant while the plane was in flight and pulled her into his seat before again asking if she wanted to join the “mile high club,” interfering with her ability to perform her duties.
The report says the flight attendant was able to free herself from Finnister’s grip and report the incident to her flight supervisor.
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Investigators say Finnister also alarmed one flight attendant by asking multiple questions about the cockpit, including questions about how to enter the cockpit.
After he was moved for a third time due to his “disruptive, intimidating behaviors,” investigators say Finnister laid down on the floor of the plane in front of his seat, forcing the flight attendants to stop service and pick him up off the floor.
Finnister later admitted to police that he had invited the flight attendants to join the “mile high club.” He went on to say that he took multiple shots of alcohol to calm his nerves before the flight, which he claimed was his first.
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Finnister, who is listed in court documents as being from Detroit, was charged with interfering with the performance of the duties of a flight crew member.
According to court documents, the flight took off from Louisville, Kentucky at approximately 8 a.m. Tuesday morning and landed at Orlando International Airport at approximately 10:30 a.m.
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