Naked Passenger Disrupts Alaska Airlines Flight, Locks Himself In Restroom

An Alaska Airlines flight on Wednesday was diverted from Seattle back to Anchorage, Alaska, due to an incident involving a naked passenger.

The flight made its U-turn after the passenger, who locked himself in the bathroom, stripped naked and refused to follow crew’s instructions.

Airport police told KTVA-TV they responded to a call around 3 a.m EST from Flight 146, which had returned to Ted Stevens Anchorage International airport.

Kate Danyluk, a passenger, told the Associated Press that she suspected something was wrong because the crew were wearing rubber gloves as they walked up and down the aisle. According to Danyluk, police entered the aircraft and took the naked passenger out through the back door.

She said she didn’t see the passenger as several others were standing near the bathroom blocking the view but she did hear that the man had locked himself inside naked and that he wasn’t in his right mind.

"I'd rather go back to Anchorage than have something happen," Danyluk said. "Safety first."

“There was a subject on the aircraft that had barricaded or locked himself in the bathroom, the lavatory,” Airport police and fire Sgt. Darcy Perry confirmed.

Perry added that the flight attendants found the passenger naked.

Perry told KTVA-TV that FBI spoke to the naked passenger, but he wasn’t aware if charges would be filed against him. On Wednesday afternoon, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney for Alaska, Bryan Schroder Chloe Martin, said no charges were filed against the passenger.

The incident comes in the wake of another event in an American Airlines flight from Chicago to Hong Kong. The plane was diverted to Anchorage following reports that a man had smeared feces onboard the flight. It was also reported this week that an Alaska Airlines pilot will plead guilty on charges of flying drunk.

Alaska Airlines spokesperson Tim Thompson confirmed that Flight 146 carrying 178 passengers had to be turned around when a passenger refused to follow flight instructions.

"Alaska Airlines flight 146 from Anchorage to Seattle returned to Anchorage due to a passenger not following flight attendant's instructions. While no emergency was declared, the decision was made to return to Anchorage," Thompson said in an email.

"While no emergency was declared, pilots made the decision to return to Anchorage," Thompson added.

He wrote, "Flight 146 arrived at Anchorage International around 2:45 a.m. and was met by law enforcement officers at the gate. The passenger was escorted off the flight by officers."