Man with box cutter facing federal charges after forcing Atlanta plane landing, officials say

WSBTV.com News Staff
·3 min read
18

An Ohio man was indicted Thursday after officials said he was disruptive on a Frontier Airlines flight, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Atlanta, last month.

According to United States Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, on Nov. 11, William Allen Liebisch, 42, of Cincinnati, was a passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight from Cincinnati to Tampa.

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When Liebisch passed through the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint at the Cincinnati airport, the indictment said TSA officers found a box cutter in his possession but believed that they made it inoperable by removing its blade.

The indictment said that Liebisch inserted a spare blade that was stored in the box cutter’s handle when the flight took off.

During the flight, Buchanan said a passenger saw Liebisch use the box cutter to clean his nails. Another told two flight attendants that Liebisch said that he was going to stab someone, according to the indictment.

After receiving the information, Buchanan said that one flight attendant asked two passengers to assist in the situation because no law enforcement officers were on the flight.

The indictment said one passenger stood in the back nearby while the other took the seat of the passenger who made the report to the flight attendants.

Buchanan said both passengers and a flight attendant tried to keep Liebisch calm and under control for the remainder of the flight.

While the passengers and flight attendant worked to keep Liebisch calm, the captain made an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

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When the plane landed, the indictment said the passengers were instructed to get off the plane and leave their belongings behind.

Atlanta Police Department officers were at the gate, but did not get on the plane to avoid provoking Liebisch, who was still in the back of the aircraft with the two passengers, the indictment said.

When all the passengers got off the plane, Liebisch charged toward a flight attendant at the front of the aircraft while holding his box cutter, Buchanan said.

The indictment said one of the passengers tackled Liebisch, and APD officers rushed onto the plane to subdue Liebisch.

Body camera video released to Channel 2 Action News shows flight attendants shouting as Liebisch charged towards the front of the plane. He can then be heard launching into a profanity-laced tirade as he is being put in handcuffs.

He stopped his struggle after the officers said they would use a taser on him if he did not comply.

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After searching his luggage, Buchanan said authorities found a second box cutter.

“People have the right to travel in peace and free from fear of their fellow passengers,” said Buchanan. “Passengers who disrupt flights with threats of violence will quickly learn that they will be answering for their conduct in federal court.”

Liebisch was charged with interfering with the duties of a flight crew and carrying a weapon aboard an airplane.

“Unruly passenger behavior is unsafe and disruptive to the traveling public, as well as the flight crew,” said Todd Damiani, Special Agent-In-Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Southern Region. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue and hold accountable those who choose to engage in such reckless activity while aboard commercial aircraft.”

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