Yemeni man charged in flight disruption

A Yemeni man accused of trying to break into the cockpit of an American Airlines flight from Chicago to San Francisco over the weekend was charged on Monday with interfering with a flight crew.


A flight attendant and passengers subdued Rageh Al-Murisi, 28, after he tried to barge into the cockpit of Flight 1561 by ramming the door with his shoulder, according to the criminal complaint filed in District Court in San Francisco.


Al-Murisi was turned over to authorities when the plane landed in San Francisco.


Al-Murisi remains in custody pending a scheduled arraignment before a federal judge on Tuesday, said Josh Eaton, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office.


An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau is investigating what led Al-Murisi, a Yemeni citizen who has a California identification card, to try to break into the cockpit.


He has a residence in the northern California city of Vallejo, the spokeswoman said.

(Reuters)