Delta flight attendants blocked a disruptive passenger with beverage cart, court filing reveals

The man may have been experiencing a medical episode at the time of the incident, according to court documents

Flight attendants on a Delta Air Lines plane reportedly had to use their drink carts to keep an unruly passenger in his seat, according to a court filing.

The incident occurred on January 18 during a trip from Minneapolis to Tokyo, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Alaska.

An FBI special agent, cited in court documents obtained by People, said she received numerous FAA notifications reporting an "unruly passenger" who had been "walking around the aisle of the aircraft" and who "had become verbally abusive" toward the Delta plane's crew.

The incident resulted in an unplanned landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska, which is why the case was filed in an Alaska court.

The FBI agents cited in the documents said she boarded the plane in Alaska and detained the 64-year-old man.

A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight on January 18, 2026 from Minneapolis to Tokyo reportedly had to be blocked into his seat by flight attendants using a beverage cart after he allegedly wandered the cabin verbally abusing people and shoving one of the attendants (REUTERS)

A flight attendant reportedly told the agent that the passenger was "stumbling, unable to find his seat and was not speaking coherently" when he boarded in Minneapolis. Another flight attendant said they thought "he was having symptoms of dementia due to his age."

The court documents allege that the man became physical with the crew at one point during the flight. He allegedly stepped out of his seat and then “used his right arm to forcibly push [a female flight attendant] all the way from row 49 to the rear of the cabin.”

Two male flight attendants tried to physically separate the man from the other flight attendant, after which he allegedly yelled that he was going to sue them.

Some time after that incident, the passenger allegedly got up again and began walking into the first-class section of the plane. Flight attendants then directed him back to his seat and parked a drink cart at the edge of his aisle to keep him from getting up and wandering again.

The flight crew justified using the cart to block him as they believed the passenger “would not comply with the orders of the flight crew and feared another incident would occur in the approximately six hours left in the air.”

After the passenger was taken into custody he was taken to a local medical facility in Alaska.

He was indicted on January 20 and was arrested on January 23, according to court records. He is currently facing one count of interfering with flight crew and one count of assault for shoving one of the attendants.

His detention hearing was held on Monday.

The passenger's defense attorney moved to dismiss his arrest warrant, pointing to FBI statements to the court that a doctor treating the man noted his “CT scan had revealed tumors that had metastasized in his brain, which could have caused the symptoms [the passenger] exhibited on the plane.”

The motion argued that it would be “extremely inappropriate, unnecessary and inhumane” for the defendant to “be thrown into jail” as he was suffering from a medical condition at the time of his alleged crimes.

The Independent has requested comment from Delta Air Lines.