First-class passenger tries to enter cockpit

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 31-year-old Tennessee man is in federal custody after trying to enter the cockpit during a Northwest Airlines flight from Detroit yesterday afternoon.

According to Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa, the incident occurred about two hours before Flight 923 arrived in Honolulu. Ishikawa said a first-class passenger tried to enter the pilot's area. The passenger was subdued by a female flight attendant, who was assisted by two off-duty Northwest employees. No weapons were used and no one was injured.

State sheriffs arrested Brandon Gabriel Rines when the flight landed in Honolulu around 2:30 p.m. He was taken to the federal detention center near the airport and charged with interfering with a flight crew.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Reach Treena Shapiro at 525-8070 or at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.