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A DIVERSION

On January 16th, flight NH118 operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) returned to
Tokyo after an unruly passenger bit a cabin attendant. The passenger was
arrested and no one was seriously hurt. However, much more happened on that
flight than the company disclosed in public statements.



The following statement has been prepared by 10 passengers from the diverted
flight.


PASSENGERS’ ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS OF JANUARY 16TH AND 17TH

Flight NH118, Tokyo to Seattle, departed 20 minutes late after waiting for a
passenger. As he boarded and took his seat in the two thirds full flight,
passengers immediately noticed that the passenger appeared heavily intoxicated.
He appeared to be sleepwalking or under the influence of sedatives. One
passenger later remarked to others that she had seen the man at a different
gate, where the flight was originally assigned, stumbling and acting
inappropriately. During takeoff, the man engaged uncomfortably with the other
two individuals in the center section of row 32.

From the beginning, it was clear that the disruptive passenger was not in a safe
state to fly prior to boarding and take off, but was allowed on board and
allowed to stay, leading to the unfortunate occurrence.

-CM, row 23

While the seatbelt sign was still on, the passenger, later identified as Michael
Halyard, stood up and walked to the galley. The cabin attendant there asked him
to return to his seat. The passenger gestured and tried to speak, but couldn’t
articulate words. Holding his glasses, phone, and a small notebook in one hand,
he continued to engage with the cabin attendant for several minutes. He refused
commands to return to his seat.

Other cabin attendants appeared and tried to contain the situation. They spoke
to other passengers in economy class, trying to find the passenger a seat that
he might prefer. They offered to reseat an individual in row 34, in a location
surrounded by families with small children. The offer was declined. The two
individuals initially seated next to the passenger accepted upgrades, freeing
the center section of the row.

The passenger resisted efforts to physically guide him back to his seat. He
pushed his way up the opposite aisle to the restroom area exits. Cabin
attendants asked if he wanted to use the restroom.

At this point, 30 minutes into the flight, other passengers got involved. One
individual spoke to the passenger, asking if he needed help, and if he knew
where he was. The passenger did not believe he was on an airplane, 36,000 feet
in the air. He wanted to leave, to return to his room. Another passenger put
hands on the man, assisting the cabin attendant in restraining his movement.

I alerted my fellow passengers and the crew members that I could see that he was
going for the door handles. I yelled “The doors, the doors” and tried to
restrain him as I observed him attempting to pull up the handle and pulled off
the safety strap. I immediately started yelling for more passengers to assist us
in restraining Mr. Halyard as I saw that the tension has severely escalated and
we needed more physical power to hold him away from the door. He was very
strong.

-KM, row 34

The passenger forced his way through the restroom area, back to the starboard
side aisle, and all the way back to the galley. Several other individuals joined
in, surrounding the passenger. The individual who had been speaking to the
passenger put his hands on the man’s shoulders, and the man threw a punch at
him, glancing off an eyebrow. The passenger went for the port side emergency
exit, pulling the safety strap off of the large lever that locks and seals the
door. No alarm sounded, but there were screams.

Luckily my husband and the other passengers on the flight worked together to get
him back to his seat after he tried to open the plane door. We had to take
matters into our own hands to prevent a potentially catastrophic situation.The
screams from terrified passengers triggered a panic attack for me.

-GN, row 33

The other individuals in the galley subdued the passenger. ANA staff produced
two large and two small zip ties from a medical kit. The other passengers
improvised restraints with the zip ties, a strap from a laptop bag, and the
passenger’s seatbelt. A cabin attendant sat next to the passenger, held his
hand, and coaxed him.

There was a lot of trial and error before we found a configuration that kind of
worked. The two large ties, looped together around his chest, kept coming loose.
The whole setup needed constant attention.

-MW, row 35

The improvised restraints worked, but required someone to maintain a hold on
them from behind and on the aisle side of the passenger when he tried to escape.
Other passengers took turns restraining the passenger, speaking with him, and
protecting him. Multiple other individuals approached, screaming threats to do
violence to the man. Still not understanding where he was, the passenger at
times spoke, cried, yelled for help. Several times over the course of the next
hour, he attempted to escape.

Once, he bit at someone and missed. Once, he got his arm loose from the aisle
armrest, sliding the zip ties that secured it over the smooth end. Once, he
succeeded in biting the cabin attendant seated next to him on her forearm,
maintaining a grip on it for several seconds.

One hour into the flight, ANA decided to return to Tokyo.

Two hours into the flight, the passenger stopped trying to escape and appeared
to become more lucid. An individual who had been speaking with him for 90
minutes and engaged in crisis intervention techniques, convinced him to
apologize to the cabin attendant whom he bit, and who was still seated next to
him. The passenger indicated that he had taken a combination of prescription and
over the counter drugs, including a sedative, a painkiller, and allergy
medicine.

I ended up sitting next to the man for over two hours and ultimately took over
the responsibility of crisis intervention and stabilization. I was truly shocked
at the crew’s inability to more effectively intervene and at how poorly ANA
handled this traumatic experience in the aftermath.

-KW, row 31

The plane landed two hours and 40 minutes after taking off. Passengers and staff
waited another 30 minutes while ANA waited for a gate to open up. At 1:00am,
police boarded the 787 and took custody of the passenger from the other
passengers and cabin attendant who subdued him. ANA staff announced that the
plane would deboard in 10-15 minutes. However, individuals seated at the rear of
the plane remained onboard for another two hours while ground crew processed
replacement flights and hotel room vouchers for passengers, one section at a
time, starting with business class. These individuals, including several
children under the age of 10, did not receive a hotel room key until after
4:30am.

First class passengers were disembarked and accommodated first, two hours before
those who had taken part in the hard work of subduing the irrational passenger
and containing all the turmoil to the last few rows of seats. Elderly passengers
and families with small children were the very last to be processed off the
plane.

-JA, row 33

ANA ground crew did not appear to be aware of what had occurred on the flight.
ANA did not interview passengers, offer medical treatment, offer counseling, or
connect passengers with police to provide statements. Every delay was routine.
While being held, unable to proceed through customs, due to a lost bag, a
passenger asked where to inquire about a refund. The ground crew manager
overseeing the baggage claim, Ms. Tsuzuki, rebuffed the request, asking if the
family intended to not board their flight tomorrow. The hotel room is sufficient
compensation, she insisted.

ANA handled this situation poorly: No assistance from the flight deck. The
flight should have turned around much earlier. No recognition of the passengers
that intervened and provided stability preventing something much more serious
from happening. Neither the police nor ANA interviewed the passengers.

-DA, row 33

ANA refused requests to accommodate families with larger rooms, forcing them to
sleep separately. Passengers had to check out at 11, return to the terminal with
their luggage, and recheck their bags. Passengers waited up to 90 minutes in
line to recheck the same bags that they had checked in just 24 hours prior. They
then had just an hour to clear security, use their 2000 yen meal coupons (for
“flight delayed on departure”), and reach their gate. Boarding passes for the
replacement flight failed the automated security scan because they had the
previous day’s date.

Checkout for the hotel was at 11am and unfortunately I could not participate in
any of the hotel meals, as ANA had not given us meal vouchers. I proceeded to
the ANA Check in Desk around 12:45 pm and after waiting in line for another 90
minutes, finally was able to check-in and was given airport vouchers in the
amount of ¥2,000 ($13.50USD) for my troubles. Once I finally got to the gate and
attempted to board the plane, I was informed that ANA was upgrading my return
flight to business, which was appreciated.

-KM, row 34

Some of the passengers who had helped restrain the man who tried to exit the
plane midflight received better seats. The plane sat on the runway for an hour
while staff located and removed the luggage of someone who would not board the
replacement flight. The other passengers used this as an opportunity to chat,
swap contact info, and take pictures. If you weren’t there the day before, you
would think it was just another routine delay.

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