American Airlines Passenger Sentenced To Jail Following Disruptive Behavior On Flight

A Turkish man was sentenced to six months in prison Monday following a disruptive incident in May on an American Airlines flight, according to reports. Anil Uskanli, 26, admitted to exhibiting behavior that was distracting to the flight's crew and passengers

Uskanli was arrested in May on a Honolulu-bound flight for his conduct and has remained in custody ever since. The passenger was also ordered to compensate American Airlines $8,525 for the incident. He claimed to have hallucinated seeing a butterfly, which caused him to react in an attempt to kill the apparent insect.

"We are proud of our crew and are grateful to them for their actions," Ross Feinstein, an American Airlines representative, said in a statement issued Tuesday to International Business Times. "Their decisive actions and efforts to defuse a potentially dangerous situation ensured the safety of everyone onboard the flight."

"Our office is happy with the sentence and we think it was fair in this case," Assistant U.S. Attorney Morgan Early said on Tuesday to Associated Press.

Uskanli's behavior was a cause for concern for airline employees and fellow passengers on Flight 31. He was the first passenger to board the plane with only his laptop, phone and miscellaneous items in his pockets. Customers seated nearby Uskanli were reportedly the first to take notice of Uskanli's behavior, which included having a conversation with himself and claiming to be a famous actor. Uskanli also banged on the walls and yelled at a fellow passenger that opened up the door on him while he was using the bathroom.

Flight attendants believed that Uskanli was carrying an explosive, which led the staffers to report the passenger's misconduct to the captain. The American Airlines captain enacted "level 1" security measures, but this was later bumped up to "level 4" bomb threat procedures.

Usklani was forced to sit beside an off-duty law enforcement officer in the back of the plane for the remainder of the flight to prevent any further disturbance from occurring.

Uskanli revealed that he had terrorist thoughts upon boarding the flight, according to a complaint filed in May with the FBI. He told an agent that "we all have those ideas." He was also administered a urinalysis. The examination tested positive for benzodiazepine, a medication that is also known as tranquilizers.

"This is a situation where a lot of people were really scared," Early said, according to Hawaii News Now. "Even though it was attributable to his mental health, it's important to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen again."

Uskalni's deportation hearing was expected to occur next week.

This story was updated to include a statement from American Airlines.