A man reportedly stood up on his flight today and announced that everyone had been poisoned, and instead of diverting to a nearby airport, the New Jersey-bound plane continued on to Newark.
Details about an investigation haven’t come in yet, but FBI agents were reportedly going to meet the plane when it landed. United Airlines and investigators say there was no proof that anyone had indeed been poisoned, so the decision was made to let authorities handle the man on the ground; the plane was inbound from Tokyo. It’s not known what charges the man may face, whether or not anyone was harmed.
Last year, four separate Delta flights handed out turkey wraps to passengers that were spiked with needles, and two people were harmed. The supplier of the sandwiches, Gate Gourmet, was investigated at the time and at least one passenger said he wanted to press charges. The airline issued a statement, saying, “Delta is taking this matter extremely seriously and is cooperating with local and federal authorities who are investigating the incident. Delta has taken immediate action with our in-flight caterer at Amsterdam to ensure the safety and quality of the food we provide onboard our aircraft.”
Two weeks later, Air Canada confirmed that a sewing needle was found in one of their sandwiches, but said they didn’t use Gate Gourmet as their supplier. The incident led to all pre-packaged food being inspected before flights.
