Feb. 11 (UPI) — A New Jersey man was arrested after he was accused of threatening passengers and crew and spewing racist comments on a fight from Miami to Newark.
On Sunday, 27-year-old Luis A. Vaquero of Passaic County was arrested after he landed at Newark Liberty International Airport.
He has been charged with one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants by assault or intimidation, according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Vikas Khanna.
Vaquero appeared Monday in a Newark federal court but was then released.
“The harrowing flight and other similar incidents onboard airplanes recently are creating tension and fear for fliers and crew members,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly wrote in a statement. “FBI Newark has a warning for those who think it may not be a big deal — they’re breaking federal law, and they will be brought to justice.”
Authorities say his tirade began shortly after takeoff and that, among other acts, he mocked a group of Jewish passengers and issued veiled threats of physical violence toward a disabled minor.
He also threatened flight crew after they refused to serve him alcohol during the three-hour flight. And as a flight attendant tried to intervene, Vaquero allegedly yelled expletives and racist slurs at her mid-air.
Upon landing, Vaquero “forced his way to the front of the plane” near the cockpit once he heard law enforcement were on the way, banging on the door and aggressively yelled at the captain, officials said.
He “continued to make threats to the captain while six inches from his face until law enforcement intervened,” according to prosecutors.
If convicted, Vaquero faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
This incident came not long after a similar one in which passengers on a Frontier Airlines flight bound for Houston last week restrained a man when he became combative kicking the seats and breaking a Plexiglass window.
