By ,
Published January 13, 2015
A first-class passenger on a flight from New York to Shanghai faces a federal charge after authorities say she consumed five glasses of wine and climbed on seats and yelled profanities, forcing the flight to be diverted to Anchorage.
The Anchorage Daily News reports Stephanie Heizmann Auerbach is accused of disrupting a flight and is being held at women's jail. Her Anchorage-based attorney didn't immediately return a message Wednesday morning.
According to court documents, Auerbach acted out on a Delta Airlines flight Sunday from New York to Shanghai via Detroit. Within an hour and a half of the flight leaving Detroit, the pilot diverted the plane to Anchorage.
"Auerbach spilled alcohol on passenger A.J. and grabbed A.J.'s wrist to place a bracelet on A.J. (She) declined to wear the bracelet and asked Auerbach to leave her alone," the charges say, according to the report. "In response, Auerbach swore at A.J. and demanded that a flight attendant give her A.J.'s name. A flight attendant intervened and returned Auerbach to Auerbach's assigned seat. Auerbach alarmed A.J. and it appeared to A.J. that Auerbach was attempting to gain access to the pilot."
Airport police say she was combative before being arrested.
A Delta spokeswoman told the paper that she could not go into specifics about the passenger, but issued statement: “The flight crew is in charge of the safety of the aircraft and the passengers on board, and they did what they thought was necessary in this case."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
https://www.foxnews.com/us/first-class-passenger-charged-after-allegedly-causing-new-york-to-tokyo-flight-to-divert-to-anchorage