The passenger who was experiencing hallucinations tried to open the plane door at 18,000 feet during an Alaska Airlines flight after claiming that he ‘needed air’ on the 90-minute journey
A strange scenario occurred on last week (December 10), when Kassian William Fredericks, 36, was reportedly behaving erratically on the evening 10 flight from Dead Horse to Anchorage, in Alaska, USA, which caused serious distress to passengers and crew onboard.
Witnesses reportedly saw Kassian visibly shaking and muttering to himself during the flight, and claimed that “the wings have disappeared”. He further exclaimed that everyone on the plane was going to die.
Many wrote off the odd behaviour as some sort of medical condition at first, but others worried he would become violent and moved away. However, when he got up to use the bathroom, the situation on board the aircraft quickly shifted.
Kassian subsequently headed toward the cabin door in the back of the plane and allegedly removed the restraint strap. He then reportedly began to lift the latch upward.
With the passenger in serious distress, he claimed that he “needed fresh air” and that “invisible people” were supposedly flying the plane, he said: “They’re trying to take over the plane. You got to stop them.”
By this point, the 36-year-old had reportedly already lifted the handle, with three passengers rushing to stop him, and it took all three of them to restrain him. The crew were alarmed and told the pilot about Kassian’s behaviour at 8:10 pm, with the plane less than 20 minutes from touchdown.
Cabin crew had a plan to zip tie Kassian to prevent any further incidents occurring, but were concerned it would escalate things even further. This led to pilots considering rerouting the flight to get him off the plane sooner.
They ultimately decided against it because he was not “not vomiting or passing out”. With options limited, the Anchorage Airport Police Department were ultimately alerted about the incident by the flight crew, which saw the FBI get involved.
The passenger was showing “physically abusive behaviour” and was classified as a level two threat, according to National Academics. One traveller reportedly believed Kassian was very nervous and even said he might be overdosing.
Kassian reportedly said, “I need to call my mom”, and continuously asked flight attendants for vodka shots and to smoke a cigarette. It was also heard that the man claimed: “Meth was coming out of the air vents”, and that “Everybody is freaking out”.
The Anchorage Airport Police who were informed, were waiting to escort Kassian off the plane, and soon he reportedly calmed down and apologised to the crew as he was guided away. A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines told The Independent that the passenger has now been banned from the airline.
They said: “We thank our crew for their professionalism in handling this situation, and we apologise to our guests for any concern this incident caused.” Following the flight, Kassian was transported to Providence Hospital for medical examination.
It was overheard that he was telling the medical staff that he had been drinking for the last ten days and was seeing and hearing things. He allegedly claimed that he could not remember the last two years of his life.
The passenger had been taking prescription Trazodone, which is prescribed to treat depression, anxiety and insomnia, and according to the Mayo Clinic, the medication can cause dizziness, muscle tremors and confusion.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.