Comments about "Gilligan's Island" net Oregon man on flight a felony charge

[depakid]

Source: The Oregonian

The U.S. Attorney's office is charging Joseph H. Johnson, 56, of Salem, with a felony count of interfering with the flight crew in connection with a Maui-bound flight that returned to Portland on Wednesday. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

...According to the complaint and a supporting affidavit, Johnson had handed a comment card to an attendant during the flight. The card said:

"I thought I was going to die, we were so high up, I thought to myself: I hope we don't crash and burn or worse yet, landing in the ocean, living through it, only to be eaten by sharks, or worse yet end up on someplace like Gilligan's Island, stranded, or worse yet, be eaten by a tribe of headhunters, speaking of headhunters, why do they just eat outsiders and not the family members? strange... and what if the plane ripped apart in mid-flight and we plumited (sic) to earth, landed on Gilligan's Island and then lived through it and the only woman there was Mrs. Thurston Howell III? No Mary anne (my favorite), no ginger, just lovey! If it were just her, I think I'd opt for the sharks, maybe the headhunters.

The complaint and affidavit also note that he had been upset because he was unable to stow his carry-on bag close-by. An overhead bin was full and he was sitting in a bulkhead row which had no storage in front of him. After reading the comment card, the captain locked the flight deck, conferred with his crew, and decided to return to Portland. Johnson later told investigators he thought no one would read the comment card until much later, and that they would "get a laugh" from it.

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/us_attorney_files_felony_charg.html

---

I guess he should have waited until after the flight to hand in the comment card....

[notadmblnd]

1. So, what was threatening about it?

[RedCloud]

16. Wing nuts are all over this at that link!

Perhaps they should be taken to task. They fail to understand that the pilot way overreacted, just like they did. And then they think the escort jets were of some service. No. They were there to murder everyone if there was a terror threat!

[buckrogers1965]

39. Guy is lucky

That some trigger happy cowboy didn't shoot him in the head when they took him off the flight.

I feel sorry for the mildly insane now, with the way people are overreacting now, being eccentric could be a death sentence.

BTW, I think being eccentric should be a human right.

[Orrex]

2. Was it a three hour flight?

A three hour flight.

[pepperbear]

5. yuk yuk yuk.

[seeinfweggos]

7. +1

[UpInArms]

18. he should have written

that it was

the butler in the library with a mustard knife

[truthisfreedom]

3. Oh come on. The captain should have had a little sit-down with the guy if he really

thought the guy was dangerous. He should have demanded to look inside the man's carry-on as well. Summoning jet fighters in this case is just plain silly.

[Jkid]

4. How is this "interfering with the flight crew"?

[Orrex]

8. He kept trying to build a drink cart out of coconuts

[No Elephants]

51. LOLOL

My first chuckle of the day. Thanks.

[bluestateguy]

6. Maybe Sherwood Schwartz could vouch for him

But he better hurry, Sherwood is pushing 100.

[uppityperson]

9. how the hell is that threatening?

[Speck Tater]

10. Misleading headline. Should read: Comments about "Crash and burn" ...

It wasn't Gilligan that freaked them out, it was "crash and burn" and "landing in the ocean" that raised red flags.

[Prometheus Bound]

43. Or "Comments about sharks and headhunters freak out cowardly flight crew"

[naaman fletcher]

79. it still wasn't a threat

[Trillo]

11. Seems like he was scared.

Isn't fear of flying a common phobia? It seems he was letting them know he was scared. "Making a joke of it" could be a way that he deals with his fear.

[New Dawn]

95. Bingo.

Unfortunately, that is a concept too difficult for the Department of Fatherland Security to comprehend though.

[Bonobo]

12. I want to laugh at this incident. BUT it is actually beyond frightening.

America has had it.
We are a nation of shivering cowards.
But we are cowards with our hands on VERY DANGEROUS WEAPONS.

[Jadga]

33. poor Professor!

well now freedom of speech gone--lets hope due process is still alive

[Toots]

66. Freedom of speech is not gone and apparently neither are the consequences for it.

Sometimes people need to be accountable for their speech. Just because you are free to say anything you want does not mean you shouldn't be judged for what you say. You can tell all the LIES you want but don't then be offended when someone calls you a LIAR

[The Stranger]

81. He was arrested for what he wrote, and what he wrote was innocuous.

If that isn't the evisceration of freedom speech, then I don't know what is.

[pundaint]

45. Aw, now I'm too afraid to go to sleep.

[Exultant Democracy]

72. very true.

[sendero]

96. Exactly..

.. as I've said here many times, if you were afraid of Saddam Hussein you should go hide under your mommy's skirt.

All this terror hysteria, the Europeans don't lose their over every attack and attempted attack. More people fall down in their homes and bump their heads and die than are killed by terror here.

The whole terror thing is just an excuse to pursue other interests.

[Blandocyte]

13. A lesson about humor

and who should/should not attempt it.
Hey, this is my 500th post! I'm buying the bubbly! Hold out your glass!

[RedCloud]

14. Pilot should be charged with airline rage and face prison.

The other guy doesn't know not to crack jokes with deranged wing nut pilots.

[Kolesar]

60. Pilots are generally right wingers

back in the 90s, one of them was whining about Clinton over the public address speaker on the Eastern Airline flight I was on.

[Tanelorn]

15. Could somebody please underline the bit that will get him

20 years in the slammer. I think I missed it but then I am not
familiar with your judicial system.

[No Elephants]

53. He thought he was funny and he was wrong.

[Bonobo]

58. It is now illegal to not be funny.

If this doesn't prove to you that we have flipped, than the apologists on this thread should.

Get out of here while you can, people.

[Iowa]

17. Yet another idiotic over-reaction...

It appears as though this was handled (and continues to be handled) in the most incompetent and over-the-top manner imaginable. The world is full of eccentrics, weirdos, oddballs, and outright nut-cases, and almost all of them are completely harmless, and most are nice people. This country is fast becoming a much more hostile, unkind, and unlivable place. Cruelty is becoming the norm.

If I were emperor-for-a-day and was given unlimited power to deal with this matter, the first thing I would do is exile the the pilot and the asshole US Attorney who is keeping this fiasco going. And I would order that they never return. Then I would assign someone to figure out what the hell is going on with the man who wrote the strange note, get him some help if he needed it, and move on, knowing that I had just made the world a little better.

[krabigirl]

37. This country is starting to really, really suck.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. Oh, well, yes.

Let's believe the perp's side of the story.

Nevermind the flight crew are trained professionals. Nevermind he was refusing to follow their orders.

[Quasimodem]

44. First off, Johnson is not a perp. he is an accused.

Secondly, how come those trained professionals were snooping in the Comment Cards to see what comment a passenger had made to their superiors about the quality of service they were providing?

I will grant that Gilligan’s Island is a rather old pop culture icon, and perhaps the entire crew was able to avoid reruns. Still, if any member of the crew possessed an iota of logic they would have realized that no purpose could be served in filling out a Comment Card had Johnson truly intended to interfere with the flight. The exercise of filling out the card demonstrated that he fully expected the plane to reach its destination, and the card the airline's quality control.

Johnson did follow the flight crew's orders. He wanted to store his bag under his exit-row seat, they wouldn't let him. Johnson was probably less than courteous, but he complied.

That, of course, is why she was snooping in his Comment Card, to see if she should make it disappear. Guess she showed him!

[Gormy Cuss]

85. Nevermind that it's not the "perp's" side, it's from the U.S. Attorney's affidavit.

[Quasimodem]

87. Which has not even been approved by a grand jury.

And you can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.

[scentopine]

20. The only thing we have to fear is fear.... lol! We are now a nation of cowards but its

not hard to blame us - the bubbleheaded media will crucify anyone who is a bit different.

[krabigirl]

35. Yep.

[countmyvote4real]

21. So what are we allowed to think about Gilligan's Island in 2010?

I don't think I disagree with his assessment of the women of Gilligan's Island. Should he have been more current and referenced Lost? Frankly, I think that would have been worse.

Happy Fucking New Year!

And yes, we are so...

[GreenTea]

22. Mrs. Howe scares the fuck out of me too....I'd like to smoke a nice organic joint anytime

with this guy....and some share a nice shots of fine tequila & Red Tail Ale while watching a few episodes of Gilligan Island....You don't like this idea? Well then I'd say go fuck yourself and whine & continue with your paranoid uptight holier than thou bullshit ..This dude sounds for more interesting than anything others are offering, he didn't do anything fucking wrong but write his fears on the appropriate airline given card also tried give a laugh to others.

[krabigirl]

36. Same here.

[DiverDave]

88. They have ORGANIC pot now?

first, how would you know, and second, isnt it all organic?

It's been awhile since I smoked out, so this was a surprise to me.

[The abyss]

23. The US has obviously descended into such a state of lunacy

As to be unrecognizable from the republic that it once was.

[scarface2004]

24. ginger or maryann?

i take ginger

[lazarus]

54. maryann n/t

[sharesunited]

25. Were comment cards handed out and comments solicited from everyone?

That will need to stop.

[Dappleganger]

26. He was doing it wrong!

Nobody takes you seriously until you light your crotch on fire, dude.

[eilen]

27. Honestly, the only other institution that is as crazy overboard paranoid

as the airline industry is the public school system.

[nosmokes]

28. This pilot ain't no cap'n Sully, that's for sure.

I bet even his pals call him captain weasel...

[Iggo]

29. We're a nation of cowards.

Not only that, we're a nation of people who are PROUD to be cowards.

Hilarious, but sickening.

[smalll]

30. This better go NOWHERE -- any attorneys around to hazard a guess?

At the same time, didn't that man who was naked in his own home while the policeman's wife was on his property, peering into his windows, didn't he actually get CONVICTED?

So although I'd have to guess this will be dismissed, who really knows these days.

[Jadga]

34. Dismissed

good thing he did not say he wanted in the flight attendant's pants--been charged with sexual harassment!! Well if the FA was female anyway

all kidding aside--we have sunk to a new low!!

by the way don't take west-clock pocket watches on airplanes--they tick REAL loud!!!

sad that the ramblings of of a passenger scared a flight crew--thank goodness they did not have to handle a real emergency!

I can see many defenses to this one!!!

[Wizard777]

50. The US Constitution and the first amendment are the law of the land.

I think we're about to find out if it is also the law of the air. At what altitude does the US Constitution expire?

[SoapBox]

31. Decisions must be made quickly...

I fully support the Captain and his crew for deciding that this guy may have been unstable.

When you are up in the air, decisions must be made while time permits. It sounds like the cabin crew already knew that the guy was "a problem" (luggage issue) and then the card added to the situation. An aircraft, at altitude is no place to play games.

It's best to make the go back decision as early as possible...and certainly before they got even close to the point of no return (the half way mark).

The last thing you want to do is keep someone onboard that then becomes a bigger problem as the flight goes on. Every single day, Cabin and Cockpit crews "tolerate" much more abuse than they should.

For those criticizing the Captain's decision, how would you feel as a money paying passenger, to have a nut disturb and frighten you for a 5-6 hour flight?

[Mithreal]

40. Does it apply to nuts on DU too? Guess he should have been pushed off the plane.

Maybe they should have air prosecutors and air judges, hmm? Would you like that too? Or, maybe air doctors who can sedate or lobotomize? Nut? Whatever.

[TheEuclideanOne]

42. There is probably one or two unhappy passengers on most flights.

So the guy is in one seat and his carry on is in a not very convenient location. He might be upset, he may complain to the person next to him.....maybe. Then he sits down and the flight begins. How does he disturb you for a 5-6 hour flight? If you get your own way, you are way more inconvenienced by having the flight turn around. Seems to be unclear thinking to me.

I think that you are confusing a customer who does not love the way the airline treats him with a person who is a threat. Maybe you just want to make a statement about how hard airline employees work. The reality is that most airlines suck! Customer service is abysmal. There are some airlines that should fail because of their lousy service and they will just blame it on the economy. The reality is that some of the airlines that I have flown on just are horrible to their customers. Yet, there is still a clear difference between a customer who is not happy with the airline and one who is trying to hijaak or blow up a plane. If I am sitting in row 5 and the airline hostess wants my overhead bags to be 20 rows behind me (for example) I will not be in a rosy mood. I might even get into an argument with the stewardess, but that does not make me a terrorist. Based on most airlines that I have flown on, the stewardess will not act professionally toward me. That is just the crappy level of customer service that you get on airlines today.

[Bonobo]

59. Yes, + 1. nt

[TheEuclideanOne]

64. unrelated to this post

That URL in your tagline is simply astounding.

[Bonobo]

67. It pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

Combine that without the highest incarceration rate per capita of any nation in the world, low infant mortality rates, poor education, poor health care, no savings, etc....


I just don't see how we could pull out of this nosedive.... :(

[TheEuclideanOne]

69. Yes, when it is described so visually

It makes it clear just how much money we are talking hear. A point that I remember hearing during the election was that we should not use the term "trillion", but instead we should refer to it as a "million million" dollars so that people can really appreciate just how much money we are talking about. I think that this video really takes that many steps further. One thing that I find especially amazing about that video is that the average income for a year is only 1 1/2 inches tall. A whole year's work for that. You would think that this would be the amount of money that is found at the 0 yard line.

As you point out, it really is amazing that with such large masses of money that so many of these problems do exist. The ironic (and unfortunate) thing is that the people with the average income of 1 1/2 inches tall (or less) are often fighting to keep the system the same. For example, the people with no healthcare fight to keep it that way because the people that already have "the best" healthcare tell them they should. Rush Limbaugh, for example, convinces them that we have the best healthcare system in the world as demonstrated by how he was able to get such great treatment for his recent heart problem. Therefore the system is working great, right? People just ignore the fact that the 20K he spent so effortlessly is basically because it is money that he makes in a few hours. A lesser amount would bankrupt the typical dittohead.

[Bonobo]

71. You should start a thread. It is always good to repost this vid. nt

[TheEuclideanOne]

74. Done.

Thanks for the suggestion.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x421323

[saigon68]

49. Really-- Its wonderful there's an ignore feature--- Bye LOL

[14thColony]

57. How exactly did he "disturb and frighten" passengers for 5-6 hours?

Did he fill out 300 comment cards and hand them to all the other passengers too? Did you read the article or do you prefer to just make shit up? Is it hard typing when you're hiding under your bed from the big scary world?

[TheEuclideanOne]

61. I am going with "prefer to just make shit up"

This passenger behaved exactly as I would have. Complained for a minute or two to the stewardess, maybe bitched and moaned to my girlfriend sitting next to me about what a jerk the stewardes was (even if I was wrong) and then enjoyed the rest of my flight. You can also make the case that people who are about to blow up a plane they are on do not complain about where their carryon luggage is kept.

If I was one of the passengers on the flight, I would be pissed that the pilot made this decision and turned the flight around. People on that flight had important things to do.... weddings... funerals.... business meetings.... vacations after working hard. People don't just get on planes because they want to see the what clouds look like. On top of that, the airline considered this to be a low risk situation, but still called out 2 fighter jets? WTF? It is scary that these people are responsible for our safety in the air.

[verdalaven]

73. Nothing in the article suggests the passengers were afraid of him

indeed, the captain told them they were heading back because of mechanical issues. Talk about striking fear into the passengers' hearts!

Either the captain and crew lack critical thinking skills - or something was left out of the official affidavit that makes their behavior make sense. Somehow I doubt anything was left out of the affidavit.

[Threedifferentones]

75. Read the link again, SoapBox

The guy wrote about Gilligan's Island on a COMMENT CARD. The OP says nothing about this man disturbing other passengers. Filling out a quirky comment card that mentions being scared of crashing cannot be equated with threatening to crash the plane. People really are just paranoid about flying these days, which is probably why this flight crew made the wrong call in the "heat" of the moment.

[Posteritatis]

80. So how many years in prison do you think he should get? (nt)

[The Stranger]

82. One passenger's being "disturbed" does not justify removing another passenger.

If you are afraid, then be afraid by yourself. Deal with your feelings.

This shit about arresting people because you're afraid needs to stop right fucking now.

[ngant17]

86. nothing in that comment card suggests that he was insane or a nut

he made some childish remarks, none of it was a threat to airline safety, passengers or crew. In itself, it was not a problem, it was a simple comment card.

There is nothing in that news story to suggest he was bothering anyone. "Point of no return"? You are delirious?

Laws prevent you from saying "Hi, Jack!", "Fire" in a public setting, but his comments were none of that, they were obnoxious at most, the comments should have been construed as negative feedback from a paying customer. The pilot and crew should have the ability to address the issue of that comment to corporate officers.

I'll make it a point to avoid this airline in the future, the people who work there are intolerant, overly paranoid and unnecessarily reactionary, and that by itself would affect my confidence of a safe take-off and landing from this company.

[uppityperson]

89. "the point of no return (the half way mark)"? WTF? You must've missed this part

"Two flight attendants noted that Johnson was calm and quiet for much of the flight. An attendant also noted that despite the initial luggage flap, he did not raise his voice and ultimately stowed the bag in a bin behind him."

[nosmokes]

91. You paranoid all the time SoapBox or

just when it comes to flying machines?

[HillbillyBob]

32. Fucking idiots. I know I ll never get on a plane again

They freak out over my body piercings..when they actually set off the metal detectors. I even had to show some jerk my pa in houston and that was before 911.
As Hillwilliam says 'Breathless hyperventilation'
I never really liked to fly anyway, I alwasy get the seat next to the talker or in front of the stupid shit kid who has to kick the back of my seat the whole flight and whines or cries.

I think the majority of murkins are fucking cowards, what happened to land of the free and brave, now the craven and close minded.

[frog92969]

38. This should make the PTB proud

It's the cowards who'll sell us all out in the end.
Gives new meaning to "safety net"

[grahampuba]

41. one way street,

if had off remarks from crew in two of my last three flights.
this last one after this christmas, i was one of the first on the plane (after they searched the socks i was wearing) and the pilot or co-pilot mentioned that security should line up all the flying Muslims and search them before the flights.
and the other was two stewardesses meeting each other in the aisle abreast of my seat and, one to the other,.. "did you get a load of the unibomber up there?"
referring i assume to the kid with his hood up and headphones and sunglasses on sitting in the first row.
in both cases i would imagine i could have gotten free tickets out of them if i raised a stink, and probably cost some people their jobs, but i preferred to be home with my loved ones moreso than jump into any circus that would have arisen from mentioning anything.

the thought did occur that if it were me saying the second.. yeah, i probably would have been making new loved ones in some county orange in a short time.

[The Stranger]

83. Why not just make a comment that would support these bigots opening their eyes a bit, instead of

remaining silent in the presence of bigotry, and allowing it to thrive and spread?

[FreedomRain]

92. Why not?

If you don't mind running the risk of "interfering" and off to prison. Yeah , it's still - I hope - unlikely, and it is necessary to help open eyes when possible. It's a tough call.

[grahampuba]

94. plane + soapbox = bad idea.

as I do the other 99% of the time.
but this pilot was agitated and slightly confrontational. the fact that he was spouting the days Rush Limbaugh's talking points chalked him up to being just another ditto head.

and in light of the original post of this thread, a plane being turned around w/military escorts for an ill timed Gilligan's Island joke?

i guess i choose my battles more carefully.

[Dead_Parrot]

46. Rambling comments are a felony?

Shit, most of DU is doomed. See you in the pen., guys.

[Robb]

63. I'll save the rest of you a cot. nt

[struggle4progress]

47. I think Commander Cody's hilarious. But I never sing "I'm gonna hijack one a them big jet planes"

in airports

[Wizard777]

48. So a fear of flying is now illegal. What if the plane crashes? You're under arrest!

So a terrorist makes his way on to a plane and we're back to setting Americans off planes for farting.

Just once I would like see a flight hit some turbulence and when it lands. The passengers have the pilot arrest because he made them fear for their lives. Every flight will be perfect or someone is going to jail. Be it a passenger for farting or a pilot for not avoiding turbulence.

[No Elephants]

52. How much does it cost to scramble two jets and give a plane an escort?

The terrorists laugh that they really don't have to do anything but increase "chatter," and we spend ourselves to death.

[Tabasco_Dave]

55. Gilligan's Island is so last century

He should have wrote Lost comments.

[NashVegas]

56. Midplane Passengers Who Use Front Overhead Bins Are ASSHOLES

Otherwise, it sounds like he was off his meds.

[cstanleytech]

62. Sounds like whats really going on in this case is

that the DA is suffering from lack of oxygen due to having his head up his ass.

[Toots]

65. The Stupid it hurts so bad..

Half of America is infected by it..

[Ticonderoga]

68. They should have realized the attempt at satire

as poor as it was. For this the plane was diverted and the man arrested? Good god people, what have we become?

[MindPilot]

70. Clearly comment cards are a security threat.

I suspect "I hope we don't crash and burn..." is a sentiment shared by everyone on the plane especially the crew. I fail to see the problem.

[alberg]

76. I think they've taken the "free" out of free association.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

77. His real crime was making flippant remarks that offended the inflated

authoritarian self-images of the crew.

[BreweryYardRat]

78. Johnson's a barely-literate dumbass...

...but being a real-life "Gilligan" is hardly grounds to charge him with a felony.

Total bullshit.

[MindPilot]

84. No military aircraft anywhere to be seen on 9/11

but they can scramble the fighters for a guy with a note?!

[Blue_Tires]

90. the biggest crime was being unfunny...

:silly:

[daleo]

93. Imagine an Aeroflot pilot doing this in 1975

We would have laughed at the absurdities of the Soviet system and how they have no sense of humor. No doubt we would have used the expression Kafkaesque.