Man arrested by FBI for asking flight attendants to join ‘mile high club’
A man could face 20 years in jail and is being investigated by the FBI for asking flight attendants to join the ‘mile high club’.
James Warren Finnister, 47, had downed shots on the Spirit Airlines flight from Louisville, Kentucky, to Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, when he made the proposition.
He allegedly grabbed two female flight attendants to make the proposal, was moved three times on the flight, and lay on the floor.
The complaint also accuses him of yanking one of the flight attendants into his seat and asking questions about entering the airplane cockpit.
He was met by the FBI at Orlando International Airport and he told them he downed the shots to calm his nerves because it was his first flight and could not remember making the proposition.
He told The Daily Beast: ‘I woke up to an FBI agent sitting next to me.
‘I’m trying to get up, and he says, ‘You need to sit down.’ I said, ‘What’s up? What did I do?”
Finnister was released on bond on Wednesday and has dismissed the claims as ‘bogus’ and claims he was asleep for most of the two-hour flight.
He has also been ordered to not drink alcohol and submit regular drug testing.
‘When I first walked in the plane, I made a joke – I said, ‘This one of those mile high flights?’ Finnister recalled.
‘They laughed and sat me by the window, [because] it was my first time flying… I was talking to a father and son next to me. We took off, I seen the clouds, and I fell asleep for two hours.
‘I asked about the cockpit, like, is this the cockpit up here? I never been on a plane, I wanted to have a look,’ he said.
‘And so they took me to jail. The charges are so bogus. It really ain’t no charge,’ he said, denying most allegations in the complaint.
But the federal prosecution said ‘Finnister was originally assigned to 18D, but never sat in that seat.’
‘Approximately an hour into the flight, Finnister asked the lead flight attendant if she wanted to join the ‘mile high club,’ the complaint states.
‘At the time of this interaction with the lead flight attendant, Finnister was reassigned to 22A, which is a window seat.’
‘During the second interaction with airlines personnel, Finnister intentionally grabbed a female aircraft flight attendant when Spirit Airlines Flight 693 was in flight, pulled her into his seat, and asked her if she wanted to join the “mile high club.”‘
‘In addition to that question, Finnister also asked the flight attendant multiple questions about the aircraft cockpit, which alarmed her, including questions related to entering the aircraft cockpit.”
‘Finnister also laid down on the floor of the aircraft in front of his seat after being moved for a third time by flight attendants due to his disruptive, intimidating behaviors.
‘The flight attendants were forced to stop service and pick Finnister off the floor.’
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