By Associated Press - Thursday, December 5, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Washington man who ingested methamphetamine before getting on a plane in Seattle and had what a prosecutor called a “freak out’’ on board pleaded guilty Thursday to interfering with crew members after the California-bound flight was forced to land in Portland.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Douglas Smyser, of Bonney Lake, is expected to face four months on home detention when sentenced in December.

Smyser, according to prosecutors, was headed to a drug rehab Feb. 13 in Malibu, California, when he ate meth before his Compass Air flight from Seattle. Smyser began pacing the aisle, refused to sit down and told a crew member that someone had a gun, FBI agent Damon Bateson wrote in a complaint. The captain diverted the plane to Portland because the crew feared Smyser might rush the cockpit, the complaint says.

Upon descent into Portland, Smyser had to be restrained by a passenger until the flight landed, the federal agent wrote.

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