2 Passengers Took Down Allegedly Drunk, Violent Man on PAL Flight: Witness

[Monseratto]

Big news in LA involving someone who lookslike a Fil-American attacked a PAL Flight Attendant...

Two American passengers aboard an international flight into LAX helped “take down” an allegedly drunk, belligerent passenger who punched a flight attendant, one of the men said Tuesday.

Brae Wyckoff said he was on board Philippine Airlines flight 112 from Manila to Los Angeles over the weekend when a 53-year-old Lakewood man became confrontational and violent after being denied additional alcoholic beverages.

The FBI on Monday announced that a federal charge of interference with a flight crew — which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years — was filed against Edgar Nafarrette Nonga after multiple midair confrontations on the flight.

Nonga was taken into custody once FBI agents and police boarded the plane after it landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday — a moment caught on video by Wyckoff.

The video showed Nonga being taken off the plane, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed.

During the flight, Nonga had tried to grab the phone from a male flight attendant who was calling the captain, said Wyckoff, who described being in the area with another passenger — a large man whom he knew only as “Bill.”

Nonga became violent with the flight attendant, prompting Wyckoff and “Bill” to take action, Wyckoff said.

“Then (Nonga) started doing these fake punches. He came in with a full punch, and the guy stepped away from it, and it missed him – barely,” said Wyckoff. “At that point … we went and grabbed him.

“(Bill) went for the body; I grabbed the arms. And we just yanked him away, and we said, ‘Sir, you’re going down to the ground. We’re going to take you down, you need to go down to the ground,’” Wyckoff recounted.

Nonga was restrained and placed in flex-cuffs by the flight crew, with the help from at least five fellow passengers, according to an FBI news release issued Monday.

Federal agents would not comment on individual witness accounts or evidence posted online, Eimiller said when asked about Wyckoff’s video, which was posted to YouTube.

Wyckoff, a Vista resident who works in San Juan Capistrano, was on the flight with his wife Jill. They were coming back from a missionary trip to the Philippines, Wyckoff said.

Nonga bailed out of federal custody after being granted $10,000 bail at a hearing in U.S. District Court Monday.

KTLA’s Chip Yost contributed to this article.

Read more: 2 Passengers Took Down Allegedly Drunk, Violent Man on Flight: Witness | KTLA 5

[_Cathy_]

Wow. 20 years is a bit too much.

[niky]

That's maximum. He's not going to get twenty for this. I wager six months probation.

The maximum is about right considering that if you interfere with certain flight crew members... like... say... the captain... in mid-air, you run the chance of killing everyone on board.

[badkuk]

That's maximum. He's not going to get twenty for this. I wager six months probation.

The maximum is about right considering that if you interfere with certain flight crew members... like... say... the captain... in mid-air, you run the chance of killing everyone on board.

Agree. This happened in transit, with the plane up in the air. Totally different situation than a barfight.


If they didn't want drunk people to cause trouble, then maybe they shouldn't serve alcohol. If they guy can't make it through the flight(let's say 24 hours) without a drink, then maybe he shouldn't be allowed on the plane in the first place. Alcoholics may not be pleasant, drunk or not drunk, in a flight.

[Monseratto]

More details on the incident...Pinoy nga na ex-US Navy ngayon sikyo sa States at kasama pa yung magulang sa flight. Lashing na bago sumakay ng eroplano... gusto pa halikan yung FA.

GLENDALE - A Filipino passenger was arrested by authorities for an alleged drunken rampage on board a US-bound Philippine Airlines flight.

Statements given to federal agents claim 53-year old Edgar Nonga admitted to having had four drinks at the Ninoy Aquino international Airport lounge before boarding PAL flight 112 heading to Los Angeles.

Upon boarding, Nonga, a California-based security guard who visited relatives in the Philippines with his parents, helped himself to a bottle of whiskey that he saw in the plane's galley.

He then had another drink, then trouble started when the crew decided to cut him off after he asked for one more.

According to a witness testimony in a federal affidavit, Nonga began cursing at flight attendants in Tagalog and even threatened to have one killed if they did not give him another drink.

Some witnesses claim Nonga then puckered his lips in an attempt to kiss the female flight attendant who tried to make him stop drinking.

A male flight attendant identified as RL stopped Nonga from kissing his co-worker. However, Nonga began punching the male flight attendant in the torso and head.

One testimony claims Nonga was holding keys as if it was a knife during the alleged punching spree.

After Nonga was restrained, he returned to his seat. His mother then spoke to the attendants and told them to "do what you have to do" because Nonga wasn't listening to his parents either.

Nonga came back for more eventually punching RL again.Passengers and other crew members were able to restrain him.

He was arrested upon landing in Los Angeles on Sunday morning. Nonga now faces federal charges for disrupting a flight crew which carry a 20-year prison sentence.

According to the federal affidavit, Nonga admitted to being drunk on the plane and even helping himself to whiskey when he saw a bottle in the galley.

However, he told investigators that he did not remember punching or trying to kiss anyone.

He said he only recalled being pinned down and then waking up, handcuffed sitting next to a big man for the final six hours of the flight.

Nonga, a former US navy man, claims to have had no history of being diagnosed with any mental illness and was honorably discharged from the Navy.

Officials, however, say he was arrested for drunk driving in 2010.

Nonga's federal public defender declined to comment on the case.

Nonga, who is currently free on $10,000 bail, is scheduled to appear in federal court on April 1. He is expected to give his plea at that appearance.

[boybi]

I had a similar incident before with PAL also. There was a group of seamen, one of which was already very drunk while still at the airport, waiting to board the same PAL flight as I. He's shouting while lying on the floor. I was hoping that he'll be denied boarding to the plane, but still pinasakay pa rin. Maingay pa rin in the first few minutes of the flight, buti nalang nakatulog afterwards for the whole flight and no untoward incident happened.

Dapat drunk passengers should not be allowed to board anymore.



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[macsd]

They should have thrown the sucker off the plane at 30,000 feet. He has put everyone on the flight lives at risk.

[niky]

They should have thrown the sucker off the plane at 30,000 feet. He has put everyone on the flight lives at risk.

Being rowdy with a flight attendant isn't a life-and-death risk while in the air. Disrupting the job of the pilot or co-pilot is.

Hence, while this is a serious crime, carrying with it, as a minimum, the $10,000 fine that he has already paid, it's not likely that he is going to get significant jail time for it.

It's not like he did what this guy did:

Clayton Osbon, JetBlue pilot who had meltdown midair, freed | GlobalPost

Going by similar cases:

FBI ? Man Who Interfered with Flight Crew Sentenced to Federal Prison

FBI ? Airline Passenger Convicted of Assault and Interference with Flight Crew Aboard a Continental Flight
(This one is very close to this case... and agrees with my prognosis of a six month sentence.)

-

There's another Flight Crew Interference case that's going to court, soon. One in which I think many of us are hoping for a conviction:

http://www.wsbt.com/entertainment/Pe...cases/24667922

The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into allegations that Bieber and other passengers onboard a charter flight from Canada to New Jersey's Teterboro Airport on Jan. 31 interfered with the flight crew, the agency said.

Bieber and his father were "extremely abusive verbally" to the flight attendant on the Gulfstream IV aircraft as he traveled to attend the Super Bowl, according to a law enforcement sources. Both Biebers refused a pilot's repeated warnings to stop smoking pot on the flight, according to a report by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which was read to CNN.

The FAA has not said when its investigation will conclude.

[vinj]

They should have thrown the sucker off the plane at 30,000 feet. He has put everyone on the flight lives at risk.

Consider it free flying lessons. If he learns to fly before hitting the ground, then good for him. :D

B

There's another Flight Crew Interference case that's going to court, soon. One in which I think many of us are hoping for a conviction:

People v. Justin Bieber: Singer's court cases | Entertainment - Home

Hope he drops the soap on that.

[badkuk]

i have a feeling "the Bieb" is going to crash real hard real soon.

Not that i condone the pilot's actions, but i hear that pilots(at least for airlines/flights within the US) are earning less that a McDonald's branch manager. You also hear stories about them getting sideline work: walking dogs, selling blood, etc. The guy could've popped from the strain.

On the other hand, pilots at foreign airlines get treated like royalty -- as in limo service from your hotel to the airport.

The guy who crash landed on the Hudson river, si Sullenberger, apparently appeared in Congress to air these concerns. It didn't get much media attention.

Back to topic: not sure how the rules go, but any ruckus you start while in midair is potentially harmful to everyone, esp. if panic sets in. And binastos/sinuntok niya yung flight attendant, which i consider a significant part of that flight -- any harm done to them is harm done to that flight, and should be punished accordingly.

Not a flight attendant btw, i hate flying :D

[Retz]

I wonder what could have happen if ever bulalo king was riding in that same plane as well.


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[EQAddict]

He will get jail time for assault, battery and assault with a weapon (the key)


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