A flight headed for Japan was forced to turn around and return to Hawaii when a violent passenger refused to stop doing yoga and sit in his seat.
The pilot of a United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Narita, Japan, turned the plane around Saturday after the passenger, Hyongtae Pae, was heard yelling at crew members and shoving his wife, the FBI said in a criminal complaint, according to the Guardian.
Mr. Pae told the FBI he didn’t want to sit in his seat during the meal service on the flight, instead opting to do yoga at the back of the plane. He became angry when his wife and flight attendants asked him to return to his seat.
“Pae pushed his wife because she was trying to make him stop,” the complaint said, according to the Guardian. “He felt that she was siding with the flight crew.”
Mr. Pae, a 72-year-old retired farmer, acted even more violently, trying to headbutt and bite Marines who were passengers on the flight and had tried to force him back to his seat, assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching said at Mr. Pae’s detention hearing Wednesday.
He also threatened to kill passengers and shouted that there is no god, according to the complaint.
Mr. Pae had reported traveled to Hawaii to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary. He had recently taken up yoga to help with anxiety, defense attorney Jin Tai Kim said, adding that he had been sleep-deprived during the trip.
Mr. Pae told the FBI he hadn’t slept in 11 days.
Mr. Ching suggested Mr. Pae should not be released because he was a danger to his wife, himself and others. He was placed on suicide watch at the Honolulu federal detention center.
U.S. magistrate Judge Kevin Chang ordered that Mr. Pae be released on $25,000 bond, but with certain conditions including not leaving the island of Oahu and undergoing a mental health evaluation.
However, Judge Chang denied a request to allow Mr. Pae to return home to South Korea because that would require him to board another plane.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.