A New Jersey man has been arrested for disruptive and dangerous behavior on an American Airlines flight. Eric Nicholas Gapco, 26, was on flight 2101 from Seattle to Dallas on July 18 when he allegedly exhibited “unruly” behavior, according to authorities.
Gapco’s actions included propositioning a female crew member for sex and attempting to open the plane’s door mid-flight multiple times, which led to an emergency landing, the New York Post reported. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah detailed that Gapco removed his shirt, inhaled from a vape pen, cursed, and hit on a crew member, proposing sex. He also allegedly assaulted a flight attendant.
Gapco’s behavior was attributed to consuming too many marijuana edibles before the flight. Chaotic footage captured Gapco, bare-chested, shouting “I am sane!” as crew members tried to calm him near the plane’s lavatory. Another video showed passengers assisting the flight crew in restraining Gapco’s hands and feet, seating him in the rear of the plane while it diverted to Salt Lake City.
Local police arrested Gapco at Salt Lake City International Airport around 11 a.m.
According to a criminal complaint, Gapco’s hands and feet were restrained after he “disobeyed the flight crew’s instructions to remain seated, used a vape pen onboard despite crew directives, locked himself in a lavatory, screamed, and attempted to open the aircraft’s exterior doors” while the plane was in flight.
A federal grand jury has indicted Gapco on charges of interfering with a flight crew and attempting to harm an aircraft under US special aircraft jurisdiction. His initial court appearance is set for Thursday afternoon.
