PASSENGER ARRESTED FOR INTERFERING WITH CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANTS

    HOUSTON, Texas – A Japanese national was arrested and charged with interfering with the flight attendant aboard a Continental Airlines flight inbound to Houston from Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.

        Noboru Akao, 66, a Japanese citizen and a U.S. permanent resident alien with a residence in New York state, was held early this morning by officers of the Houston Police Department upon his arrival aboard a Continental flight at Bush Intercontinental Airport and transferred to into the custody of the FBI pending the filing of federal criminal charges. 

        A federal criminal complaint charging Akao with the federal felony offense of interfering with a flight attendant was filed this afternoon in Houston.  Akao remains in federal custody pending an appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge expected to occur tomorrow.

        According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint, the FBI was contacted early this morning by officers of the Houston Police Department regarding a passenger aboard Continental Airlines flight #2 inbound to Houston from Honolulu, Hawaii, who reportedly caused a disturbance, and interfered with flight attendants during the flight.

        The FBI’s investigation, which included interviews with the flight crew and passengers aboard the flight, indicated that during the last two and one half hours of the seven-hour flight, Akao, allegedly became disruptive, combative, “groped” a female flight attendant, “trashed” the airplane’s lavatory, and eventually had to be restrained with flex cuffs to prevent his increasingly aggressive behavior. 

        If indicted by a federal grand jury with the interfering with a flight attendant charge, Akao faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release upon conviction. 

        A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.   A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until indicted by a federal grand jury and thereafter convicted through due process of law.