Anil Uskanli, whose erratic behavior forced F-22 fighter pilots to escort his American Airlines flight into Honolulu on Friday, later on the ground responded to a question about whether he has “terroristic thoughts” by pretending to shoot an FBI agent.
Asked about his behavior aboard American Airlines Flight 321, Uskanli told FBI Special Agent Danielle Desanctis he was “alerting people” or “making them aware.”
“When I asked him if he ever had terroristic thoughts, he responded, ‘We all have those ideas,’” Desanctis wrote in a criminal complaint that was filed in federal court in Honolulu on Monday. “I then asked if he planned to hurt anybody, and he responded ‘It depends on the day.’ At one point during the interview I again asked whether he has terroristic thoughts, and in response he made a gun shape with his finger and pretended to shoot me. He then did a gesture simulating a chopping motion toward my neck. Toward the end of the interview, he pointed to me and said to my fellow interviewer, FBI Special Agent Tracy Dockery, ‘I’ll kill her, get out the following day, and shoot myself.’”
On Monday, during Uskanli’s initial appearance in federal court, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren ordered him to undergo a competency evaluation in a federal prison facility on the mainland that will be determined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Uskanli faces one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Uskanli, 25, of Turkey, was escorted into Kurren’s Honolulu courtroom with his hands in front of him, shackled at the waist. He was barefoot and wore a short-sleeved white jump suit.
His federal public defender, Peter Wolff, requested that Uskanli undergo a competency evaluation. Wolff then told Kurren, “I think he needs some actual treatment.”
Kurren scheduled a status conference for 30 days, but Wolff later told reporters outside of court, “Realistically, it’s 45 days before anything’s going to happen with this case.”
Before his brief court appearance began, Uskanli sat in the jury box throwing back his long, curly hair. During the proceeding he often bowed his head, with his hair hanging over his face.
Uskanli did not speak, but was offered the services of a Turkish interpreter.
The interpreter, Engin Turkalp, spoke to Uskanli in Turkish, Turkalp later told reporters. She then told Wolff before the court session, “He knows English.”
Later, Wolff told Kurren that “Mr. Uskanli actually speaks pretty good English. … There’s some serious questions about his competency.”
Wolff later told reporters that Uskanli’s family in Turkey has contacted private Honolulu attorneys who might take over the case.
Fear during flight
Turkey’s Andalou news agency reported Sunday that Uskanli studied film and journalism in California and London.
Uskanli worried passengers in Los Angeles when he was wheeled aboard American Airlines Flight 31 in a wheelchair as the first passenger to board. Authorities in Los Angeles had already decided he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol after he walked into a restricted area of the airport.
“He did not have any carry-on or checked luggage, boarding only with a phone, laptop, laptop charger, and miscellaneous items in his pockets,” Desanctis wrote in her affidavit.
During the flight, passengers and flight crew grew increasingly concerned over Uskanli’s behavior, which included putting a blanket over his head and trying to force his way into first class.
Uskanli “started to exhibit strange behavior, including talking about being a famous actor and repeatedly moving his laptop from the seatback to under the seat,” Desanctis wrote.
At one point Uskanli went into a bathroom but did not lock the door. When another passenger entered, Uskanli “became flustered and agitated, and began yelling and pounding on the walls,” Desanctis wrote.
The captain of the Airbus 321 then “implemented a ‘level 1’ security measure, locking down the flight deck,” according to Desanctis’ affidavit.
Uskanli later got up again, wrapped a blanket around his head, picked up his laptop and started toward the front of the plane.
But a flight attendant used a drink cart to block his path and got help from four or five passengers, including an off-duty law enforcement agent who escorted Uskanli back to his seat and remained there with him.
Meanwhile, flight attendants were worried about the possibility that the laptop Uskanli left on their drink cart might contain explosives. So they moved it to the back of the plane and barricaded it with flight crew bags.
The captain then implemented a “level 4” emergency, initiated undescribed “bomb threat procedures” and dropped the elevation of the plane to 5,000 feet.
After the captain reported the incident to American Airlines Corporate Security, two F-22 Raptors flown by Hawaii Air National Guard pilots appeared and escorted the flight.
The Airbus 321, with 181 passengers and a crew of six, landed at Honolulu International Airport at 11:35 a.m. without further incident.
In Honolulu, after he was taken into custody, Uskanli consented to a urinalysis and field sobriety tests that were conducted by a sheriff’s deputy.
Uskanli’s urine was “presumptively positive for benzodiazepine,” a tranquilizer used to treat anxiety and other conditions. The sobriety test indicated “possible use of stimulants and/or cannabis,” according to Desanctis’ affidavit.
Criminal complaint against Anil Uskanli by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
