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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, January 8, 2010

Feds charge Oregon man taken off Hawaiian Air flight


Associated Press

The U.S. attorney's office in Portland, Ore., on Friday filed a charge of interfering with a crew member against the passenger, Joseph Hedlund Johnson of Salem, Ore.

On Wednesday, a Maui-bound Hawaiian Airlines flight from Portland, was turned around and escorted by two F-15 military fighters because of allegedly uncooperative behavior by Johnson.
An FBI affidavit said Johnson, traveling with his girlfriend, held his carry-on bag closely and was unhappy he couldn’t stow it under his seat.
He was in the bulkhead row, so there was no seat ahead to provide storage beneath, the affidavit said. Attendants told him the space beneath his seat was reserved for the feet of the passenger behind.
Then the 56-year-old then filled out a comment card with phrases about death and crashing, and he gave it to an attendant who passed it along to the pilot, the affidavit said.
“The Captain stated that he absolutely felt threatened by the contents of the card, especially when he considered Johnson’s earlier suspicious behavior with his bag,” the affidavit said.
A search after the plane returned showed Johnson and his girlfriend had no dangerous items, the FBI said.
Johnson was not jailed. He is expected to appear in court Monday.