ATLANTA — A man who brought two box cutters on a flight and forced an emergency landing is now facing federal charges.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia filed an indictment after the Ohio man brought the box cutters on board a Frontier flight on Nov. 11, according to a news release. The flight was headed for Tampa but had to be diverted to Atlanta.
Transportation Security Administration said the passenger, who boarded the plane from Cincinnati, was disruptive and caused a disturbance. Body camera video shows authorities taking the man into custody on the plane.
He passed through the TSA checkpoint in the Cincinnati airport, where security found a box cutter in his belongings. They mistakenly believed that it was made inoperable since its blade was removed, a news release reads.
Authorities said the 42-year-old inserted a spare blade that was stored in the handle of the box cutter, and a passenger saw him use it to clean his nails. Another passenger reported the man's alleged threats about wanting to stab someone to two flight attendants. This was when the pilot made an emergency landing at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
"As the last passengers deplaned, (the man) charged toward a flight attendant at the front of the plane while holding his box cutter. One of the passengers tackled him from behind, and APD officers rushed on the plane to subdue (him)," prosecutors said. "He stopped resisting as soon as they said they would use a Taser on him if he did not comply. A subsequent search of his carry-on bag uncovered a second box cutter."
The man is now accused of interfering with the duties of a flight crew and carrying a weapon aboard an airplane, according to a Department of Justice news release. The DOJ also alleges that the man told another passenger he wanted to stab someone - which triggered the pilot to make an emergency landing.
“People have the right to travel in peace and free from fear of their fellow passengers,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a prepared statement. “Passengers who disrupt flights with threats of violence will quickly learn that they will be answering for their conduct in federal court.”
The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, prosecutors clarified. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
William Allen Liebisch, 42, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been charged with interfering with the duties of a flight crew and carrying a weapon aboard an airplane. The magistrate court ordered him to remain in custody pending trial. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul R. Jones is prosecuting the case.