US military jets escort Hawaii flight after fracas involving Turkish man

The U.S. military on May 19 scrambled two Air Force fighter jets to escort an American Airlines flight into Honolulu International Airport after a disturbance involving a Turkish passenger aboard the plane was reported, officials said.

The nature of the fracas was not immediately disclosed by the FBI, the military or American Airlines, but local news media reported a passenger had tried to force his way into the cockpit of Honolulu-bound Flight 31 from Los Angeles.

The man was subdued by an off-duty law enforcement officer and others aboard the aircraft, and the flight landed safely at 11:35 a.m. Hawaii time, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Federal authorities were preparing a criminal complaint to charge Turkish national Anıl Uskanıl, 25, with interference with a flight crew, Federal Bureau of Investigation special-agent-in charge Paul Delacourt said at a Honolulu news conference.

Delacourt, when asked by a reporter if Uskanıl tried to break into the cockpit, said the Turkish man was in the aisle of the plane and it was "unclear what his motivation was".

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) police said separately that Uskanıl had been detained, questioned and released hours earlier after he was caught by security there going through a terminal concourse door leading out to the airfield.

Los Angeles airport police spokesman Rob Pedregon said Uskanil was a ticketed American Airlines passenger with a boarding pass who had cleared security screening but claimed that he lost his way because he was tipsy from drinking.

As he did not appear to meet the criteria for public drunkenness, police let him go with a citation for misdemeanor trespassing, Pedregon said. He was escorted to the street in...