What happens to idiots like this typically (USAir flt 196)
Sep 24, 2003, 10:39 am
#1
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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What happens to idiots like this typically (USAir flt 196)
Ex-PSU scientist subdued on flight
Man touched others with his blood, officials say
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
BY JIM SMITH
Of The Philadelphia Daily News
PHILADELPHIA - A former PSU Harrisburg environmental microbiologist is accused of horrifying fellow passengers on a flight from Philadelphia to England by smearing several of them with his own blood.
Picking at his skin and bleeding from self-inflicted scratches to his face and hands, John P. Hegarty touched several passengers with his blood, according to federal air marshal Roy Janssen.
Earlier, he'd been "speaking loudly about a variety of topics, including loud comments about seeing his girlfriend in England."
"Hegarty also paced about the cabin and talked to passengers in a close and personal manner by placing himself close to the face of several passengers.
"The flight crew and passengers expressed fear of contamination from his blood and concern of his aggressive behavior," the air marshal noted.
Hegarty also put his hand on a 15-year-old girl's thigh while showing her "a coin trick," and argued with the girl's mother when she told him to stop.
The air marshal said Hegarty had "placed several coins" on the girl's thigh, and then had "placed his hands in the lap above the right knee of the girl."
"Hegarty argued with the mother and made statements about the attractiveness of the girl and the mother.
"Hegarty threatened the mother and asked her to step outside as if to fight her," Janssen said.
When he entered a lavatory, flight attendants blocked the door with two service carts to keep him inside, after which Janssen and another air marshal arrested him.
After being strapped in a seat by the air marshals, Hegarty kicked the other air marshal, Robert Gevers, in the upper thigh, and tried to bite Janssen's right hand, Janssen reported.
A physician gave Hegarty some medicine, Benadryl, to calm him down, but while restrained, "Hegarty thrashed about in his seat, and unfastened the seat belt and broke the window shade with a kick from his feet.
"Hegarty was foaming from the mouth, spitting on the floor, cursing" at the air marshals and other passengers, Janssen alleged in a sworn statement filed in federal court in Philadelphia.
USAir Flight 196 left Philadelphia on Friday, and Hegarty was jailed after the plane landed in Manchester on Saturday, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily McKillip, the case prosecutor.
"He smelled strongly of alcohol" and was carrying an empty plastic sports bottle when arrested, the prosecutor said.
Air marshals returned Hegarty to Philadelphia and a psychological exam was ordered. He is to have a bail hearing tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles B. Smith.
Hegarty is charged with interfering with flight attendants, assaulting a minor and assaulting a federal officer.
Dr. Katherine H. Baker, a professor of environmental engineering who runs the environmental microbiology research lab at PSU's Harrisburg campus, told a reporter yesterday that Hegarty "did graduate work in my lab" but lost his job there about four months ago.
She didn't know if he's now employed.
Hegarty, a native of Harrisburg, had worked at the Penn State lab for more than two years, left and got his doctorate at a British university, then returned to the lab and worked for several more months before funding for his position expired.
"He's very bright," said Baker.
"It does not sound like anything I would have expected," she added, referring to his alleged criminal conduct. "It seems very out of character."
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriot...6026102990.xml
Sep 24, 2003, 4:58 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2003
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PineyBob:
Maybe the lack of glassware in first was the last straw that threw him over the edge?</font>
Maybe the lack of glassware in first was the last straw that threw him over the edge?</font>
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No thanks, I'm just lurking. Call me the Lurker!
Sep 24, 2003, 5:03 pm
#4
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by The Lurker:
I thought that they still had glassware in Envoy class on transatlantic flights.
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I thought that they still had glassware in Envoy class on transatlantic flights.
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Sep 25, 2003, 4:22 am
#5
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I would also be curious as to the exact procedures by which the gentlemen was taken back to PHL? E.g. on a commercial flight, millitary plane, etc? Also how do they handle prisoner transfer from aircraft to ground transportation? E.g. do they walk with the person through terminals, or just have ground transportation on the ramp to minimize travel time walking with the person in custody?