Unruly Pilot in Passenger Seat Diverts Flight

PHOENIX — An America West Airlines flight was forced to divert to Tucson International Airport after one of the carrier’s own pilots riding as a passenger allegedly became unruly, police said Thursday.

“I guess he was yelling and screaming and throwing things,” Officer Shellie Croft, one of the arresting police, said. “The whole aircraft could hear him. He was very loud.”

Brantley Myers, a 13-year America West pilot who lives in Prescott Valley, Ariz., was cited for disorderly conduct in Wednesday’s incident and was undergoing a 72-hour psychological test at Kino Hospital in Tucson.

The trouble occurred about 10 minutes into the flight, which was bound for Austin, Texas, from Phoenix.

Croft said Myers was still ranting when he was taken into custody aboard the plane with the help of two more officers, struggling all the way.

“He didn’t help and he didn’t resist,” she said. “We practically had to carry him off.”

Croft said it was not clear what prompted the alleged outburst. A witness told a local television station that Myers was repeatedly yelling, “Get away from me!”