‘Unruly passenger’ on American Airlines flight diverted to Seattle faces federal charge

SEA-TAC, Wash. — An “unruly passenger” who caused an American Airlines flight headed from Tokyo to Dallas to be diverted to Seattle on Wednesday is facing a federal charge.

According to court documents, 26-year-old Waka Suzuki allegedly became angry over a faulty seat charger, which escalated to the point where the woman shoved crew members on the flight and then pounded on the cockpit door, prosecutors said.

The incident caused a lockdown, forcing the pilot to land the plane in Seattle.

Sixty passengers and 13 crew members were on the flight.

According to charging documents, Suzuki had asked a flight attendant for help to charge her phone but became hostile when the phone did not charge. She reportedly began yelling at the crew on the flight.

Prosecutors said she ran toward the front of the plane after becoming unhappy with the crew’s additional attempts to help her. The woman reportedly shoved crew members and stomped on their feet, running toward the cockpit.

When Suzuki got to the door, investigators said she pounded on it and yelled for help to charge her phone.

According to court records, flight attendants attempted several more times to calm Suzuki but she continued yelling and did not comply with the attendants. Then the Federal Aviation Administration was notified about the incident and a Level Three lockdown was initiated, forcing the pilot to divert the plane to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

During the flight, the woman was placed in flex cuffs by crew members after two of them were assaulted.

When the plane landed in Seattle, the woman reportedly stayed on the plane for nearly 30 minutes, refusing to get off.

Port of Seattle police and U.S Customs and Border Protection agents were waiting for her.

After getting off the plane, the woman was interviewed by customs officials and reportedly admitted she got angry over the faulty charger. She reportedly said the flight attendants were “rude and dismissive.”

According to court records, she told investigators that a crew member spat on her and others pushed her to the ground, which led her to punch and shove.

Cox Media Group