OKLAHOMA CITY – A federal grand jury accused an Ohio woman of attempting to exit an airplane during a flight. Jendaya Kashar Brennan, 30, is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants.
An affidavit in the case relates that on May 22, agents with the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office were notified of a disturbance aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville, Tennessee, destined for Phoenix, Arizona.
The flight was diverted to Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport after on-duty flight crew members reported that Brennan “was attempting to utilize the rear exit of the plane while still in the air.”
Despite the crew’s attempts to calm the woman, she continued to scream that she was going to exit the plane, kicked and spit at crew members as they attempted to apply wrist restraints, and pulled on a crew member’s lanyard in an attempt to pull the crew member to the ground, an FBI agent wrote. Even after Brennan’s hands and legs were restrained, the agent wrote, Brennan broke through her wrist restrains and had to be held down to prevent her from striking the flight crew or other passengers.
The pilot diverted the plane to Oklahoma City after he heard the disturbance. Once the plane landed, the Oklahoma City police officers carried Brennan off the plane, they reported.
If found guilty, Brennan faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. She remains in custody pending “further proceedings” in U.S. District Court.