A federal grand jury has indicted an "unruly" airline passenger after he allegedly propositioned a flight attendant for sex and attempted to open the aircraft’s exterior doors. The man allegedly attributed his outburst to consuming too many marijuana edibles, the strength of which was not known to him.
Eric Nicholas Gapco, 26, of Delanco, NJ, is charged “with interference with a flight crew, and attempted damage to an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States” stemming from the July 18 incident, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Gapco was traveling from Seattle, WA to Dallas, TX on American Airlines Flight 2101 when the episode occurred. “Gapco failed to follow instructions to remain in his seat, propositioned a flight attendant for sex, was repeatedly loud, vaped, bothered other passengers, locked himself in the lavatory, and attempted to open the aircraft exterior doors multiple times while the aircraft was in flight,” the statement explained.
The New York Post reported that Gapco removed his shirt and produced a vape before enthusiastically puffing on it in the cabin. Another passenger claimed that, at one point, Gapco tried to give them a bag of loose, unidentified pills.
KSLTV obtained three separate videos showing the events as they unfolded. “I am sane,” Gapco says in the first video. “I do not want to hurt myself,” he tells the plane.
After he refused to return to his assigned seat, the flight crew was forced to tie the passenger's hands and feet. One of the videos shows passengers assisting flight attendants as Gapco asks one of the videographers, “Hey, did you record that?”
Gapco was so disruptive that the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City.
A third video shows Salt Lake City police officers boarding the plane and imploring an uncooperative Gapco to leave the aircraft with them. “I have clots in my legs, I need hospitalization,” Gapco screams in the footage. “I need to go to a hospital!”
Eventually, he complied and left the plane with the officers. As he was led down the aisle, Gapco sang, “You say potato, I say potahto,” and made several other unintelligible statements.
Gapco “continued to be belligerent” and was “combative with medical staff and police” after leaving the plane, according to court documents reviewed by NYP. He allegedly smashed a glass door and spat at one of the officers.
The FBI and the Salt Lake City Police Department are jointly investigating the incident.
