A charge of interference with a flight crew is likely to be filed Monday against Muhammed Abu Tahir, whose allegedly disruptive behavior resulted in an Atlanta to San Francisco airline flight being diverted to Colorado Springs, the U.S. attorney’s office in Denver said Saturday.
Asked whether Tahir is a U.S. citizen, Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said although he and investigators know Tahir’s nationality, he wasn’t at liberty Saturday to answer the question.
The incident Friday occurred aboard AirTran Airways Flight 39. According to AirTran, Tahir, who was allegedly intoxicated, became disruptive and irate with a flight attendant. Tahir, according to the airline, refused to follow flight crew instructions to take his seat and then proceeded to lock himself in the lavatory.
Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
