by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:45 AM ET, Wed May 17, 2017
A scary scene unfolded when an Air Canada flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Orlando Monday after a passenger onboard attacked the crew and attempted to open the cabin door mid-flight.
According to WFTV.com, the disruptive passenger was identified as Brandon Michael Courneyea and crew members had to use zip ties to secure him to his seat after he became aggressively violent.
The flight was en route from Jamaica to Toronto Monday night when attendants report Courneyea began yelling at fellow passengers who looked at him. The man then walked to the back of the plane, picked up a pot of coffee from the galley and started swinging it at crew members.
The Air Canada flight crew contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation after Courneyea said he would take the plane down and attempted to open the rear cabin exit door as the flight was still in the air.
"When confronted (by the flight attendant), Courneyea lunged for the rear cabin exit door and began to pull the door lever up to open the door," according to a federal criminal complaint. "(He) then was restrained by crew members and fellow passengers on the aircraft."
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As Courneyea grabbed a second pot of coffee, attendants and other passengers took the situation into their own hands by restraining the man and then securing his arms and legs to a seat. The incident lasted around 45 minutes before the pilot called for the emergency landing at Orlando International Airport.
Once the plane landed safely in Florida, federal agents boarded the flight and arrested Courneyea on charges of assault, intimidation of flight crew member or flight attendant and interfering with the performance of duties.
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