INDIANAPOLIS — Court documents released Wednesday morning give new insight into the moments leading up to an aircraft’s emergency landing at the Indianapolis airport Tuesday afternoon.
WRTV reported Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration started its investigation after a disturbance was reported on Flight 3989 en route to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport from Indianapolis.
A spokesperson from MESA, the airline operating the flight, said in a statement a passenger stood up shortly after takeoff and “tried to move up the aisle” but was stopped by another passenger.
According to an arrest affidavit, Indianapolis Airport Police Department received notification of the “unruly passenger” just after noon Tuesday.
The passenger was identified in court documents as 32-year-old Jacob Cook.
Dispatchers from the airport operations center also received an emergency call from air traffic controllers, stating a “passenger was attempting to break into the cabin of the aircraft that was currently in flight and had just taken off.”
Flight 3989, which had 68 passengers on board in addition to the flight crew, had only been about 400 feet off the ground when witnesses say Cook started screaming and got up from his seat. Flight attendants later told police Cook “exhibited no strange behavior” before takeoff.
Police say the passenger next to Cook tried to restrain him, but he moved out of her grasp, heading toward the front of the plane.
Cook reportedly called 911 during this incident, using expletives to explain he was in danger, and he was “going to freak the (expletive) out” if they didn’t stop the plane.
Dispatchers also heard Cook yelling obscenities at other passengers, demanding they stop the plane. Even as the call’s connectivity became spotty, Cook was still heard shouting.
The plane turned around to make an emergency landing and returned to its gate, where airport police were waiting. By this time, police say other passengers and crew restrained Cook, and were standing with Cook by the cabin doors. Officers immediately placed Cook in double-locked handcuffs.
The flight was delayed by 92 minutes, the affidavit says, as “the plane was forced to deboard so that personnel could evaluate the aircraft for damage and to refuel.”
When speaking with witnesses, the plane’s pilot reported he and his cocaptain could hear Cook screaming from outside the cockpit immediately after takeoff. A nurse practitioner on board who tried to calm Cook down said he “presented as delusional and made constant statements suggesting he was in danger.”
The passenger seated next to Cook told police he mentioned to her he hated flying, and also “had consumed alcohol prior to the flight.”
While moving Cook to airport police headquarters, officers tried to put Cook in a temporary holding cell. Police say during this, Cook physically resisted officers, at one point “spinning away from officers and repeatedly screaming and yelling obscenities.” Officers eventually restrained Cook again, and sat him in the cell.
During an interview with police, the affidavit says Cook admitted to leaving his seat to try and get the pilot’s attention so he could stop the plane. He also told police he knew what he was doing would interrupt the takeoff process. “When there’s an issue and you feel like your life is in danger, yes,” he said.
Cook also informed police suffers from anxiety and depression, and he’d just left a drug rehab facility in Bedford to go another treatment center in Houston. Court documents say Cook further added that he should have gotten off the plane and switched his flight when he briefly deboarded to grab food and call his uncle, but “he was being rushed to reboard the flight.”
Airport police transported Cook to the Marion County jail, where he was being held on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and disrupting the operation of an aircraft.
Cook is due in court for an initial hearing Thursday morning.
