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.
Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said that, if convicted, Tahir could face up to 20 years in prison.
A law enforcement source told The Denver Post that Tahir, who turns 47 Sunday, is a Pakistani national who has been in the United States for “quite some time” – since at least 2002.
The source said investigators are attempting to determine Tahir’s profession.
According to El Paso County Jail booking information, Tahir is 5 feet 9 inches and weighs 172 pounds. He lives in Glen Allen, Va., a suburb of Richmond, Va.
The incident Friday occurred aboard AirTran Airway Flight 39.
Tahir began his trip in Richmond, and changed planes in Atlanta.
According to a statement from 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 aft lavatory.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the captain elected to divert the aircraft to the nearest airport which was Colorado Springs Municipal Airport,” said the AirTran statement.
The captain requested that local law enforcement meet the plane.
Once the plane was on the ground, it taxied to a remote location at the airport where the passenger was detained, said the airline.
The plane was then repositioned at a gate where it was searched by canine teams.
Kathy Wright, spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver, said said that prior to the plane’s departure from Colorado Springs, FBI agents interviewed the AirTran flight crew and passengers. Also interviewed were the police who took the passenger off the plane, she said.
Wright said the agents are investigating allegations that Tahir grabbed a flight attendant and that he also removed his shoes during the incident.
According to airport officials, the plane pushed back from the gate in Colorado Springs at 3:45 p.m. Friday and arrived in San Francisco without further problems.
Two F-16s under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command were scrambled after the AirTran pilot reported the unruly passenger.
According to NORAD, the fighters were launched at 11:44 a.m. Friday to escort the flight.
The Boeing 737 with 132 passengers and crew on board landed at the Colorado Springs Airport at 11:55 a.m., about 25 minutes after AirTran alerted the Colorado Springs Airport to the problem.
“It is an unfortunate and rare event when flight crew instructions are not followed,” said the AirTran in a statement.
“AirTran Airways fully supports our flight crew in performing their assigned duties and we admire the professionalism the Flight 39 crew showed in this case.”
NORAD said the two fighters arrived overhead at the Colorado Springs Airport as the AirTran pilot landed the 737 around noon.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
