An unruly passenger pulled a knife aboard a Dallas-bound American Airlines jetliner on a flight from Hawaii, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. None of the 190 passengers and crew of 12 were hurt, said an airline spokesman.
The FBI said two hours into the flight the sleeping man awoke and became unruly, aggressive and verbally abusive. He then brandished a pocket knife with a two-inch blade.
The Pilot decided to land in Los Angeles, and shortly after touchdown about 1:30 a.m., Paul Gordon Cochran forced open a door on the Boeing 767 and threatened to jump just short of the terminal, authorities said. Airport police waiting at the gate tackled him as the aircraft neared the passenger ramp. The 46-year-old Texas man was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for a 72-hour mental evaluation.
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This was in yesterday's newspaper.
Besides the important point of someone like that being a danger period, I want to say it's friggin' idiot morons like that that will get even little pocket knives made illegal for law-abiding citizens to carry. Some people might say it is an over-reaction to someone wielding a knife of only a 2-inch blade, but box cutters usually only have a 1 or 2-inch blade and are very dangerous in the wrong hands. What gets me is this is the second time in about a week some a-hole lunatic has boarded a flight and besides being a danger, has painted all knife carriers as crazy in the eyes of the general public.
Jim
The FBI said two hours into the flight the sleeping man awoke and became unruly, aggressive and verbally abusive. He then brandished a pocket knife with a two-inch blade.
The Pilot decided to land in Los Angeles, and shortly after touchdown about 1:30 a.m., Paul Gordon Cochran forced open a door on the Boeing 767 and threatened to jump just short of the terminal, authorities said. Airport police waiting at the gate tackled him as the aircraft neared the passenger ramp. The 46-year-old Texas man was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for a 72-hour mental evaluation.
****
This was in yesterday's newspaper.
Besides the important point of someone like that being a danger period, I want to say it's friggin' idiot morons like that that will get even little pocket knives made illegal for law-abiding citizens to carry. Some people might say it is an over-reaction to someone wielding a knife of only a 2-inch blade, but box cutters usually only have a 1 or 2-inch blade and are very dangerous in the wrong hands. What gets me is this is the second time in about a week some a-hole lunatic has boarded a flight and besides being a danger, has painted all knife carriers as crazy in the eyes of the general public.
Jim
