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Hawaii man accused of threatening to kill flight crew, blow up plane

An allegedly unruly passenger was taken off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport and now faces a federal charge.
An allegedly unruly passenger was taken off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport and now faces a federal charge.
(Michael Caulfield / Associated Press)
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Forget all the screaming babies and baritone snores -- the crew of a British Airways flight headed for Los Angeles International Airport this month may have truly found the passenger from hell.

A 20-year-old Hawaii man suspected of threatening to kill flight attendants and blow up an aircraft during a flight from London to Los Angeles was charged with interfering with a flight crew, according to a criminal complaint made public by the FBI on Wednesday.

Kevin Lee Mosele, of Kihei, told federal investigators he consumed several drinks during a layover at London’s Heathrow Airport. On the plane he became agitated, using an obsenity while screaming at flight attendants: “I am going to ... kill you,” the complaint said.

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The man had flown from Italy to England, and was scheduled to have a layover at LAX before reaching his final destination in Maui, according to Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles.

Mosele also threatened to open the aircraft’s doors while it was airborne, spit water at crew members, claimed he would find members of the crew on Facebook so he could kill them and said he was “going to set off a bomb,” according to the complaint.

A team of flight attendants managed to restrain Mosele and handcuff him in his seat, but he continued to scream threats and obscenities. At one point, the captain considered landing the plane in Iceland or Canada to have the unruly passenger removed, the complaint said. Mosele was taken off the plane in L.A.

Mosele, who faces up to 20 years in prison, was released Tuesday on $10,000 bond, according to the FBI. He is due back in court Aug. 4.

During an interview with federal investigators, Mosele apologized for his actions and said he “just went crazy” when the flight crew restrained him.

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