Man whose behavior forced jet to be diverted pleads guilty
PITTSBURGH – A Utah man is pleading guilty to interfering with a flight crew on a New York-bound US Airways jet that had to be diverted to Pittsburgh.
Forty-year-old Steven Pectol, of Mapleton, appeared Thursday at a change-of-plea hearing in Pittsburgh federal court.
He told the judge he’s on medication for bipolar disorder.
Authorities alleged Pectol behaved bizarrely aboard the red-eye flight from Phoenix on Oct. 11.
They say he began throwing his belongings, talking to himself and heading toward the cabin door. Passengers helped flight attendants subdue Pectol until he could be placed in plastic handcuffs and his legs restrained with a seat belt used to demonstrate safety at the beginning of the flight.
A criminal complaint says he kicked the people who were trying to restrain him.