MLS team subdues passenger who stripped
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - July 18, 2008 Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer
were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, FBI
spokesman Gary Johnson said. Tie wraps were placed on the man,
whose name was not immediately released. He was taken into custody
in Oklahoma City and placed under psychiatric evaluation, Johnson
said.
American Flight 725, a Boeing 757, arrived in Oklahoma City at
1:35 p.m. CDT and was back in the air an hour later, said American
Airlines spokesman Tim Smith. It landed without further incident at
Los Angeles International Airport at 3:13 p.m. PDT.
Craig Tornberg, the soccer team's general manager, said he
confronted the man as soon as he saw him emerge naked from one of
the plane's restrooms.
"I said he should get back into the bathroom and put on his
clothes," Tornberg said after the plane landed in Los Angeles.
"He said something strange to me. He said, 'I don't hear you. I
don't see you."'
Tornberg said the man complied and got dressed but a few minutes
later "made a beeline for the emergency door."
Tornberg said he, assistant coach Gwynne Williams and Michael
Burns, the team's vice president for player personnel, grabbed the
man and forced him into a seat while a flight attendant tied him
up.
"It was strange, but when he put his hands on the exit door -
that brought it to another level," Burns said. "Clearly, he
wasn't thinking straight."
The pilot diverted the flight to Will Rogers World Airport where
the man was removed.
"He was taken into custody by the Oklahoma City Police
Department and taken to a crisis center for a mental evaluation,"
Johnson said.
Shortly before the incident, Tornberg said he saw the man,
described as clean-cut and in his early 20s, crying and "talking a
lot of gibberish."
The soccer team was on its way to Southern California for a game
on Sunday against Chivas USA at California State University,
Fullerton. Its members were among 151 passengers and seven crew
members on the flight.
As passengers left the plane in Los Angeles, several indicated
they had taken the incident in stride.
Gillian Callaghan, who was traveling with her 12-year-old son,
said she never panicked because the flight crew seemed to keep
things well under control. She said she felt sorry for the man.
"He was just having some troubles, confused, not a scary guy,"
she said.
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Associated Press writer Raquel Maria Dillon in Los Angeles
contributed to this story.