Five Passengers Restrain Drunk While En-Route

An apparently inebriated passenger was restrained on a United Airlines flight and later arrested after threatening to kill the aircraft's pilot on Wednesday.

Damien R. Sexton was charged in federal court with assaulting a passenger on board a San Francisco-bound flight after he allegedly stood up in his seat and blurted out, "I'm going to kill the pilot," according to court records.

The intoxicated man the stepped on the thigh of passenger Patricia Mace trying to gain access to the aisle of the plane while it was en route from Philadelphia on November 21, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Mace's thigh muscle and nerves were damaged by Sexton's actions, that came moments after he threatened to kill the pilot, authorities said.

Sexton was restrained by four or five passengers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Danner wrote in court papers. A flight purser gave the passengers duct tape and handcuffs while restraining Sexton, according to reports. Sexton was arrested upon arrival at San Francisco and charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco with assaulting a passenger and threatening to injure the pilot.

FMI: www.united.com, www.faa.gov/data_statistics/passengers_cargo/unruly_passengers/