Man admits to jumping on plane drinks trolley before stripping mid-flight

A US man has admitted to leaping onto an airline drinks trolley mid-flight, before stripping off his clothes in the aisle of the plane, forcing the plane to divert.

Adam Alexander Williams, of Washington, pled guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, reported the Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana on Thursday.

Mr Williams had been travelling on an American Airlines flight from Seattle to Charlotte, North Carolina on 9 January, when he began behaving erratically.

In the hearing, the US Attorney described how he shocked fellow passengers by leaping onto the drinks trolley and knocked over a member of crew.

“Williams jumped over passengers in his row and on to a beverage cart that was in service,” they said.

“As he came off of the cart, he almost landed on a flight attendant and pushed her into a seat, knocking drinks and cups to the ground.”

Flight attendants who were present reported that they had been able to calm Mr Williams, placing him in a seat between several US Marines for around 10 minutes.

However, at this point “Williams stood up and began screaming while taking off his clothes,” reported the Attorney.

“At that point, to ensure the safety of passengers, the aircraft’s captain turned the plane around and landed in Billings so that Williams could be removed.”

The case was handled in Montana as the flight had diverted to the city of Billings, Montana, where Mr Williams was arrested.

He will be sentenced at a later date, said the Attorney’s Office.

In April, the US’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed its two largest fines to date for disruptive passengers, one of which had travelled on American Airlines.

The fines – $81,950 (£62,915) and $77,272 (£59,324) respectively – went to a passenger who spat at and headbutted cabin crew on an AA flight, and a customer who bit a fellow passenger and tried to open the cabin door during a Delta Airlines flight. Both incidents took place in July 2021.

In the UK, the airline Jet2 has issued two £50,000 fines and lifetime bans this year: one for a woman who shouted at crew and slapped fellow passengers on a flight to Turkey, forcing the plane to divert; the other to two brothers who became drunk and aggressive on a flight to Crete, with the pilot also having to divert to Corfu.