Thread: Man Seized On Flight To Dulles

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01919.html

Man Seized On Flight To Dulles
Passenger Attempts To Open Cabin Door

By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006; B01


An unruly passenger who reportedly tried to yank open a cabin door in an airliner en route to Washington was jumped last night by fellow passengers who helped federal air marshals subdue him.

United Flight 890, from Los Angeles, was about two hours from Dulles International Airport when the incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. EDT. The full Airbus 320 arrived a few minutes early, officials said.

The man, who reportedly wore a camouflage jacket and spoke Portuguese, was questioned at Dulles last night by airport police, according to an airport spokeswoman.

No motive was readily apparent, but a spokeswoman for the FBI emphasized that the incident was not terrorism-related.

"There is no terrorism nexus," she said.

The plane, which according to a Web site can carry 180 passengers, left Los Angeles at 12:50 p.m. PDT. About halfway into the flight, shouting broke out in the rear of the cabin, a passenger said after arriving at Dulles.

The man "was pulling on the rear-door release handle," said the passenger, Stephen Lockwood of Northern Virginia.

A flight attendant ordered the man to stop, but he continued to pull on the handle.

Two or three passengers standing nearby intervened, Lockwood said he was told by others onboard.

"They jumped him," Lockwood said. "He resisted," and a vigorous scuffle ensued.

"The guy took quite a beating," Lockwood said. No one else was reported injured.

Out of the tumult, the passenger said, a federal air marshal appeared. He showed his shield and placed plastic handcuffs on the man.

"The passengers clapped when they took him forward," Lockwood said.

Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said that she lacked details of the incident but that she understood two air marshals had subdued the man.

It was not clear how often air marshals have been called on to subdue passengers on flights into or out of Washington. The number of flights that carry marshals is not disclosed.

Intervening in such situations is "part of [the air marshals'] mission, Kudwa said.

It also was not clear whether the door could have been opened in flight. Lockwood said he was told later by airline personnel that the doors cannot be opened while the cabin is pressurized.

According to Lockwood, the man was taken to the first-class section of the airplane, where at least one passenger talked with him in Portuguese.

Courtney Prebich, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates both Dulles and Reagan National Airport, said airport police were called to meet the plane upon its arrival.

An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau was interviewing the unruly passenger last night. She said few details were immediately available.

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Mental Evaluation Ordered By Judge For Brazilian Man
Dan Telvock

Sep 15, 2006 -- Loudoun General District Court Judge Dean S. Worcester today ordered a mental health evaluation to determine if a Brazilian man, who tried to open an emergency door of a plane flying from Los Angeles to Dulles Tuesday night, is competent for trial.
The plane landed safely, and U.S. Marshals then subdued Carlos Alberto de Oliveira, 43. Passengers had to struggle with de Oliveira, a jujitsu fighter, while on the plane to keep him under control. He is charged with interfering with the operation of an aircraft, a felony.

Shown on closed-circuit television today in court, jail deputies aggressively placed de Oliveira in a chair, and forcefully held him down for a few minutes before the hearing started. He appeared to be going in and out of consciousness as his court-appointed public defender Lorie O’Donnell asked the judge to order a mental evaluation. O’Donnell said Central State, a mental health hospital in Petersburg, has already agreed to take de Oliveira for an emergency commitment.

“It’s just uncertain when that bed will be available, whether it be today or over the weekend,” she said.

When Worcester asked if de Oliveira understood what his attorney was asking, he opened his eyes and shook his head no. The interpreter re-stated the judge’s comments, and de Oliveira then shook his head up and down to apparently mean yes. He communicated with head motions during the entire 10-minute hearing, never speaking.

The judge scheduled a court update on de Oliveira for 11:15 a.m. on Oct. 20. His preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 31 was rescheduled to Nov. 7.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01210.html

Mental Evaluation Urged for Passenger
Man Subdued on Flight Is Incoherent

By Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 15, 2006; B03


A professional jujitsu fighter charged with trying to open a cabin door of a Dulles-bound airliner as it cruised at 30,000 feet gave nonsensical answers during a court hearing in Loudoun County yesterday, and his lawyer requested a mental evaluation before he is arraigned.

Carlos Alberto de Oliveira, 43, a native of Brazil, was charged with interfering with the operation of an aircraft after United Airlines Flight 890 landed safely at Dulles International Airport in Loudoun Tuesday night.

During his brief court appearance yesterday through a video link, Loudoun General District Court Judge Dean S. Worcester asked de Oliveira through a Portuguese-language interpreter whether he understood the charge against him. "Let's go then," de Oliveira said. "Sept. 12. The money is there."

When the judge asked de Oliveira whether he would like the court to appoint a lawyer in his case, de Oliveira swayed back and forth, closed his eyes and leaned close to the camera, replying, "In relation to paying the ransom? I want people to be alive. It doesn't help to be dead with money."

Loudoun Public Defender Lorie E. O' Donnell, who was appointed to defend de Oliveira, asked the judge to postpone de Oliveira's arraignment until it can be determined whether he is mentally fit to understand the legal proceedings. The judge is expected to rule on O' Donnell's request today.

O'Donnell, who for the first time briefly spoke with de Oliveira through an interpreter after the hearing, said her client appeared to be very confused, disoriented and in need of psychological counseling. O'Donnell said she expects the court to commit de Oliveira to Central State Hospital in Petersburg, where he would undergo a psychological examination and could receive treatment.

"He needs some help. From what very little I've seen, I don't think the man understands anything going on," O'Donnell said.

Federal air marshals on the flight took de Oliveira into custody after passengers wrestled him to the floor Tuesday night during the flight from Los Angeles, just one day after the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The plane was carrying 138 passengers and six crew members and landed at Dulles at 8:30 p.m.

About 3 1/2 hours into the United flight, passengers said a man yanked the handle of a cabin door, which could not be opened because the cabin was pressurized. Law-enforcement officials said de Oliveira at one point walked toward a beverage cart, which was blocking the cockpit door when it was briefly opened. A flight attendant told him to return to his seat, and he did, law enforcement officials said.

A passenger on the flight said he saw the man acting oddly midway through the flight. Dressed in a camouflage jacket, fatigues and wraparound glasses, the man paced the aisle restlessly and mouthed obscenities before he made his way toward the rear galley and lunged for the exit door, according to passenger Ken Wolfenbarger, 44, of Whittier, Ca.

De Oliveira's court hearing yesterday attracted a swarm of reporters, including several from Brazil. Before his arrest, de Oliveira had achieved prominence in the world of Brazilian jujitsu, a vigorous martial art that is known for its unique wrestling techniques. A professional fighter with the rank of black belt, de Oliveira has competed in several national and international jujitsu competitions, according to Fernando Yamasaki, a Rockville jujitsu instructor who has seen De Oliveira fight at several competitions in the United States.