byTChris

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the conviction imposed upon Javid Naghani for interfering with flight attendants. Naghani, an Iranian, had been drinking prior to boarding the Air Canada flight from Los Angeles to Toronto. Flight attendants caught Naghani smoking in an airplane bathroom "and made him sit near the lavatory in a jump seat, where he become angry."

Flight attendants then said they heard Naghani threaten to sue Air Canada and either say that "my people will kill all Americans" or "I will kill all Americans." Naghani, a native Farsi speaker who speaks English with an accent, denied making such statements but was convicted in December 2001 and in March 2002 received a 33-month sentence.

The court justified the sentence by explaining that Naghani diverted flight attendants from their duties, creating a risk if an emergency happened to occur elsewhere on the airplane. Keep that in mind next time you divert a flight attendant's attention by requesting an extra pillow.

Naghani's drunken smoking and ranting were undoubtedly disturbing, and other passengers were inconvenienced when the flight returned to the LA airport (escorted by fighter jets). Nonethless, 33 months is a ridiculous sentence for rude behavior that caused no serious harm.