The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A passenger on board a Frontier Airlines flight was allegedly highly intoxicated when he began behaving in an obscene manner causing interference of the flight crew members. When the plane landed the suspect was taken into custody and he is now facing federal charges.
On the evening of Thursday, May 17, a Frontier Airlines flight from Denver to South Carolina departed, and while in the air the people in the cabin were allegedly exposed to a man who reportedly began acting in a disorderly manner to the extent that he prevented the flight staff from performing their regular duties.
45-year-old Michael Allen Haag was seated between two women that were also passengers on the flight. Around two hours after departing, Haag, who was consuming double vodka and tonics and acting as if he was very drunk, began talking to one of the women about how he was physically stimulated because he was going to visit a woman he knew. The woman reported that she felt very uncomfortable with the way Haag was behaving, and she felt that he was leering at her because she was wearing shorts and a tank top.
The woman on the other side of Haag had fallen asleep and it was reported that he began touching her fingers and then her legs. She woke from her nap and another passenger was also awoken to hear the woman yelling expletives at the man and threatening him if he continued touching her. When the flight attendant was summoned and made aware of the incident she moved Haag to an open seat in the rear of the cabin with the hope of diffusing the problem.
The woman who was now seated beside Haag used her cell phone to capture him in a photo of what appeared to be Haag urinating on the seat in front of him. Flight attendants again moved Haag to a different seat in a different section of the plane.
According to the affidavit, the Charleston Aviation Authority Police Department in South Carolina notified the authorities about what had allegedly taken place while the flight was in the air. When the plane landed Haag was approached by police while he was still in his seat and they escorted him off of the plane.
After taking statements from witnesses on the flight the authorities believed there was enough evidence to support arresting Haag and he was taken into custody. He is facing federal charges of interfering with flight crew members, and obscene or indecent exposure of genitals. He was ordered to pay a $25,000 bond and further issued restrictions preventing him from traveling between South Carolina and Colorado, visiting bars, and using alcohol excessively.
Haag was released after submitting the bond later that evening.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.