A man accused of disrupting an airline flight and prompting the military to tail the plane with two jets said he doesn’t remember the events that got him into trouble.
Muhammad Abu Tahir, 47, of Glen Allen, Va., pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Denver federal court to interfering with a flight crew.
Authorities say he drank five mini-bottles of wine, locked himself in a lavatory to shave and then became unruly when he was asked to return to his seat.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. He is free on a $10,000 unsecured bond but is barred from drinking alcohol and flying on airplanes. Tahir said he traveled by car to Denver for the hearing.
Outside of court, Tahir said he was told by a flight attendant that he was OK when he went to the lavatory to shave.
“After that, I don’t remember,” he said in broken English after his court hearing, adding that he had never before been in trouble with the law.
