California man sentenced to 19 months in prison for forcing plane to divert to KCI
A 52-year-old California man has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for causing a mid-flight disturbance that forced a cross-country flight to divert to Kansas City International Airport, according to court documents.
U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark sentenced Juan Remberto Rivas of Los Angeles to 19 months in federal prison without parole and to pay $64,434 in restitution to American Airlines.
Rivas was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Rivas pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with flight crew members and flight attendants in January.
The sentence is run concurrently with an ongoing Platte County case, where Rivas is charged with second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and attempted escape while under arrest.
According to court documents, Rivas was a passenger aboard American Airlines flight 1775, traveling non-stop from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in February 2022. While over Kansas, Rivas created a disturbance and became combative.
During the flight, Rivas went to the front of the plane and argued with a flight attendant. He tried to force his way into the cockpit, yanked the handle of an exit door and tried to break a small champagne bottle on a counter.
“Yeah, he’s trying to get in the cockpit,” the pilot told air traffic controllers while requesting permission to divert to KCI, according to audio captured at the time by LiveATC.net.
One of the flight attendants struck Rivas with a coffee pot, according to court documents. He was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to “bring down the plane.” Flight attendants and passengers ultimately subdued Rivas, binding him with duct tape and zip ties until the plane was on the ground.
According to court documents, Rivas assaulted arresting officers after the plane landed while he was being taken into custody.
