Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Air Canada Plane Diverted After Ontario Man Allegedly Tries To Open Door

The Canadian Press, 17 May, 2017 12:49 PM
    TORONTO — An Ontario man is in federal custody in the United States after allegedly assaulting members of an Air Canada flight crew and trying to open the door of a plane while it was in flight.
     
    Court documents show Brandon Michael Courneyea was arrested on Monday after his flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Toronto had to be diverted because of a disturbance on board.
     
    The documents allege Courneyea yelled at fellow passengers for looking at him, swung pots full of hot coffee at flight attendants and eventually tried to open the door of the aircraft mid-flight after saying "it would only take one guy to take the plane down."
     
    The flight was ultimately diverted to Orlando, Fla., where Courneyea was arrested and taken into custody by the FBI.
     
    A criminal complaint against him says he was arrested under a charge of assault or intimidation of a flight crew member and interfering with their job duties, an allegation that has not yet been proven in court.
     
    Courneyea's wife says his arrest has come as a complete shock, saying his alleged behaviour is not in keeping with the man she knows.
     
    "That is not my husband at all," she told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview. "There's a lot more to what brought that on, because my husband is the kindest, most loving man you'll ever meet. And anybody that knows him will tell you the same thing."
     
    Amanda Courneyea said her 33-year-old husband headed off to Jamaica last week from his home in Amherstview, Ont., to fulfil a long-held desire to take a vacation there.
     
    She said she had urged him to "cross it off his bucket list," adding he travelled alone because the couple has five children, many of whom have special needs, and cannot be left in the care of a babysitter.
     
    But Brandon Courneyea's vacation plans went awry almost immediately, according to his wife, who said he told her that locals were threatening his life.
     
     
    She arranged for him to move up his flight plans from Friday to Monday, booking him on an Air Canada flight to Toronto that left Montego Bay in the late afternoon.
     
    According to the criminal complaint filed against Courneyea, disruptions began almost as soon as the flight was in the air.
     
    A flight attendant told an FBI investigator that she first heard signs of a "verbal disturbance" shortly after takeoff, though Courneyea soon settled down.
     
    He came to the crew's attention again, however, when he allegedly began yelling at passengers for "looking at him" and threw a wad of paper at a woman sitting nearby, the complaint said.
     
    Crew members asked Courneyea to move to the back of the plane, but Courneyea allegedly walked erratically through the aircraft, at one point without shoes on.
     
    Eventually, the criminal complaint states, Courneyea entered the back of the plane, picked up a full coffee pot and began swinging it at a flight attendant.
     
    "A fellow passenger attempted to calm Courneyea however, these attempts were futile," reads the criminal complaint. "Courneyea then stated that it would only take one guy to take the plane down and that he wanted to take everyone with him."
     
    After grabbing another full coffee pot, Courneyea allegedly dove for the back exit and tried to pull up a lever to open the door.
     
    The complaint said both crew and passengers jumped in to restrain Courneyea and eventually bound his arms and legs to a seat using zip ties.
     
    Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said Courneyea's efforts to open a door mid-flight would not have succeeded, saying it's "impossible to do during flight."
     
    She said crew followed standard procedures for dealing with unruly passengers, adding the airline would not offer further comment as the incident is now a police matter.
     
    Amanda Courneyea said she has not been allowed to speak to her husband since his arrest, adding his absence is taking a toll on her and her family.
     
    "My kids are heart-broken and crying, and I'm crying, and we just want him home where he belongs," she said.
     
    Amy Filjones, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Florida, said Brandon Courneyea must come before a judge to be indicted on a criminal charge, adding that has not yet taken place. She would not comment on whether Courneyea would be released.
     
    Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to request for comment.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Andrew Weaver Says Greens Will Fight Pipeline; Calls Clark's Liberals 'Reckless'

    Andrew Weaver Says Greens Will Fight Pipeline; Calls Clark's Liberals 'Reckless'
    British Columbia's Green party leader says they plan to use their increased political clout in the provincial legislature to fight Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project

    Andrew Weaver Says Greens Will Fight Pipeline; Calls Clark's Liberals 'Reckless'

    Trudeau To Promote Canadian Tech, Lure Foreign Investment At Microsoft Summit

    Trudeau To Promote Canadian Tech, Lure Foreign Investment At Microsoft Summit
    VANCOUVER — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to pitch major multinational companies on investing in Canada's technology sector on Wednesday, joining top business leaders inside the closed-door Microsoft CEO Summit in Redmond, Wash.

    Trudeau To Promote Canadian Tech, Lure Foreign Investment At Microsoft Summit

    Daredevil Nik Wallenda's Wife To Dangle By Her Teeth Over Niagara Falls

    Daredevil Nik Wallenda's Wife To Dangle By Her Teeth Over Niagara Falls
    The trapeze-artist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda is planning her own stunt high above Niagara Falls

    Daredevil Nik Wallenda's Wife To Dangle By Her Teeth Over Niagara Falls

    Winnipeg Police Arrest, Charge Men With Killing Tina Fontaine's Cousin

    Winnipeg Police Arrest, Charge Men With Killing Tina Fontaine's Cousin
    WINNIPEG — Police have charged three men in the killing of a cousin of Tina Fontaine, a teenager whose death fuelled calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

    Winnipeg Police Arrest, Charge Men With Killing Tina Fontaine's Cousin

    Volunteer Saves Life Of Pet Mouse That Had Overdosed On Heroin In Vancouver

    Volunteer Saves Life Of Pet Mouse That Had Overdosed On Heroin In Vancouver
    VANCOUVER — A harm reduction group on the front line of Vancouver's overdose crisis can now include a small, furry mouse on the list of lives it has saved.

    Volunteer Saves Life Of Pet Mouse That Had Overdosed On Heroin In Vancouver

    Greens want specifics on potential horse-trading deals with B.C. Liberals, NDP

    Greens want specifics on potential horse-trading deals with B.C. Liberals, NDP
    VICTORIA — British Columbia's upstart Green party has set up a negotiating team and is planning a series of chess moves that could shake the direction of the province following last week's inconclusive election results, says deputy party leader Matt Toner.

    Greens want specifics on potential horse-trading deals with B.C. Liberals, NDP

    PrevNext