Passenger on diverted flight to Wichita made threats after being refused beer

A passenger who was arrested after the plane he was on was diverted to Wichita threatened to kill passengers on the plane after being refused a beer, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

The man, identified as 38-year-old Jason Baroletti of Holbrook, N.Y., was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 11:08 p.m. Tuesday on suspicion of criminal threat. A booking report listed “cause terror, evacuation or disruption” as well.

According to the release, Baroletti was a passenger on American Airlines flight 622, which was carrying 131 people from Phoenix to New York on Tuesday. Officials at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport were alerted at 6:57 p.m. that the plane would be making an unscheduled landing there because of “an ongoing disturbance,” airport police and fire chief Roger Xanders said.

About 10 minutes after the flight left Phoenix, Baroletti began smoking an e-cigarette until flight attendants told him he could not do that, according to the release.

He then asked for a beer because he “did not have his medications and beer would help his anxiety,” one witness told an FBI agent in an official complaint document.

Flight attendants decided against serving him the beer, and Baroletti refused to sit in his seat, becoming agitated, according to witness statements recorded in the document.

“He told them he was going to take the plane down,” one witness told the FBI agent. “When other passengers tried to help he threatened to kill them. He repeated several times that he was going to take us all down with him.”

A physician on the plane advised Baroletti that if he had an anxiety disorder, “alcohol is the last thing he needs,” according to his statement to the FBI agent.

“Passenger then threatened to kill me and was going to take me out on tarmac in New York and beat me,” the physician told the FBI agent, according to the document. “Passenger then said he was going to knock the beard off my face.”

Flight attendants requested the pilot land at Eisenhower airport so that Baroletti could be removed from the aircraft, according to the release.

Members of the band Augustines, who were on the plane, live-tweeted the incident.

“Whoa. Emergency landing in (Wichita). Passenger threatening the plane that he wants to kill people. Bad scene,” a tweet on the band’s account stated at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“Marshals checking trash cans,” a later tweet reported.

The plane landed in Wichita at 7:21 p.m., and airport police boarded the plane and arrested Baroletti within four minutes. The band posted a photo of airport police on the plane in Wichita.

“Checking bathrooms now and they removed the suspect,” another band tweet stated.

Baroletti was questioned by the FBI after he was taken into custody, Xanders said. Airport police interviewed passengers to get a clearer picture of what happened, he said.

The plane left Wichita at 8 p.m., airport spokeswoman Valerie Wise said, and arrived in New York shortly before midnight.

A plane making an unplanned stop because of an unruly passenger is “not something that commonly happens” in Wichita, Xanders said. Stops because of medical emergencies are more common.

Xanders said he didn’t know why the pilots decided to land in Wichita as opposed to Denver or Kansas City. It may have been the closest sizable airport, he said, or it may have been because Wichita typically has less air traffic to negotiate on short notice than Kansas City or Denver.

“I can only imagine their first and foremost goal is the safety of the passengers,” Xanders said of the airlines.

“That’s a benefit that we have here. We have a big enough airport and big enough staff to be able to handle this.”

If convicted, Baroletti faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The FBI investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Passenger on diverted flight to Wichita made threats after being refused beer."