Terrorism unlikely in scuffle on flight
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
A federal magistrate yesterday ordered a mental competency exam for a Tennessee man facing federal criminal charges after he allegedly approached the cockpit of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Honolulu from Detroit on Thursday and announced he was going to take control of the plane.
U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr. said Brandon Gabriel Rines was within an arm's length of the door leading to the cockpit of Northwest Flight 923 when flight attendants were able to subdue and handcuff him using a plastic strap.
Officials said they do not believe the incident was related to terrorism.
Rines, of Talbott, Tenn., was charged with a single count of "knowingly interfering with the flight crew in a manner that required physical restraint."
Kubo said a handful of people who caused problems aboard scheduled flights to Hawai'i have been arrested on the same charge over the past several years. In most of those cases, the errant passenger was intoxicated or had mental problems, Kubo said.
During a detention hearing yesterday, U.S. Magistrate Barry Kurren ordered that criminal proceedings against Rines be suspended pending the outcome of a "competency evaluation."
A mental health expert will examine Rines, who is being held at the Federal Detention Center near the airport, to determine if he understands the charge against him.
If a determination is made that Rines is not competent, he will likely be sent to a federal mental health evaluation and treatment facility in Springfield, Mo., according to Kubo.
During the court hearing yesterday, Rines asked Kurren to send him to "the Peninsula hospital in Maryville." It appeared to be a reference to a clinic at a hospital in Maryville, Tenn., that treats people who are mentally ill or have other behavioral problems.
Kubo said federal investigators are still trying to determine how Rines was able to board flights from Knoxville to Detroit and then from Detroit to Honolulu on a one-way ticket and without any luggage.
"That should have raised a number of red flags but apparently didn't," Kubo said.
Checking to ensure that passengers who board long-distance flights are traveling with suitcases aboard the same plane is one of the techniques airport and security personnel use to protect against terrorism.
Both Kubo and Charles Goodwin, special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Honolulu, said they do not believe that the Northwest incident had any connection with terrorism.
"But we take these things very seriously in light of 9/11 and especially given the elevation to orange (alert status) that took place Dec. 23," Kubo said.
Goodwin said the commotion started when the plane was about 90 minutes from Honolulu.
According to an FBI agent's affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rines, the incident began about 12:30 p.m.
"Brandon Gabriel Rines exited his seat and began to approach the forward cabin of the airplane. While doing this, he was yelling, 'The world is coming to an end,' and 'I am going to land the plane,'" according to the affidavit.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
