Passenger on LA-Bound Flight Arrested After Making Bomb, Death Threats: FBI

Federal authorities said the passenger also began to mock the captain by saying, "Ooo, El Capitan, can I pretend to be a stewardess?"

A passenger who claimed he had a bomb, spat and threatened to kill flight attendants and open an aircraft door on a British Airways flight from London to Los Angeles was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of interfering with a flight crew, according to a federal criminal complaint released Wednesday.

Kevin Lee Mosele, 20, of Hawaii, made an initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles Tuesday and was freed on $10,000 bond, according to federal authorities. If convicted on the single count, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Mosele could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Los Angeles-bound British Airlines flight 283 Monday was two hours out of London when a flight attended contacted the captain and said there was an "abusive and disruptive passenger" that was "swearing and screaming," the 11-page criminal complaint said. The captain, Sean Dewbury, told Mosele he would divert the flight and "drop you off in Iceland" if his behavior continued. A short time later, he was restrained with metal handcuffs and placed in a rear seat.

For the next eight hours, the captain told authorities Mosele was "struggling in restraints, screaming and spitting," the federal complaint alleges. At one point federal authorities said Mosele began to mock the captain by saying, "Ooo, El Capitan, can I pretend to be a stewardess?" and dared him to land the plane saying, "You won't land for just one person."

In all, the captain said he spent 2 hours of the flight dealing with the allegedly unruly man, the complaint said. A flight attendant discovered two small wine bottles and two small whisky bottles in Mosele's seating area that were not sold on the flight. They believed he brought the liquor on the flight.

Mosele allegedly said, "I am going to set off a bomb" and "I am going to open this door," and told a flight attendant, "I am going to [expletive] kill you" as many as seven times. He also allegedly "spit in the face of a male flight attendant."

According to the complaint, Mosele told an FBI agent that he drank a couple of beers and a couple of wine beverages as well as purchasing a small bottle of white wine during a nine-hour layover at Heathrow International Airport. He also stated he didn't know if they would serve him alcohol because of his age. He joked with the flight attendants for about an hour-and-a-half, but a male flight attendant said he was "getting too aggressive" and admitted he might have scared the female flight attendants by walking around the rear galley area. He said that he became agitated after being restrained and just went "crazy," the complaint said. He also allegedly apologized to the agent.

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