L.A. Man Arrested Over Disturbance on Jetliner

A USAir jetliner bound from Los Angeles to Indianapolis made an unscheduled stop in Las Vegas on Sunday after a passenger locked himself in a lavatory and began pounding on the walls.

The Boeing 737-300 with 105 passengers aboard was not damaged and eventually flew on to Indianapolis after the unarmed passenger, identified as Thomas Joseph Kelly II of Los Angeles, was taken into custody by police.

Authorities described Kelly, 31, as a psychiatric patient. He was admitted to a Las Vegas-area mental hospital and was not expected to be criminally charged.

Sgt. Thomas Sayles of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said Kelly was seen “thrashing around, crying and hollering” at Los Angeles International Airport before boarding USAir’s Flight 20. At about 12:30 p.m., shortly after the jetliner took off, Kelly argued with a flight attendant and asked that his seat be changed.

Although the attendant “told him that he could move, he got defensive, went into the bathroom and started banging on walls and the door,” Sayles said.

A passenger who was sitting nearby said Kelly suddenly bolted from his seat, ran toward the front of the plane and slammed the lavatory door.

“Then we heard him screaming, kicking and the hollering,” said the passenger, who requested anonymity. “No one panicked or anything.”

Passengers sitting near the restroom were moved to the back of the plane and a flight attendant requested five volunteers to guard the restroom door, the passenger said. As an additional precaution, the door leading to the flight deck was opened and used to block the restroom door.

“The pilots obviously wanted to get this passenger off as soon as they could, so they diverted to the nearest airport, which was Las Vegas,” said David Shipley, a USAir spokesman.

After landing at McCarran International Airport at 1:05 p.m., Kelly refused to open the door without first speaking to a minister, the passenger said. Authorities complied with his request and Kelly emerged 15 minutes later.

He was taken away in handcuffs and Flight 20 took off for Indianapolis after more than a 90-minute delay.