Molokai man sentenced to time served for attack that diverted Hawaii flight

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A 33-year-old Molokai man was sentenced to time served and ordered to pay more than $6,000 in restitution Monday after he assaulted an attendant and forced a Hawaiian Airlines flight bound for Hilo back to Honolulu in September 2021.

Chief U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright sentenced Steven Sloan Jr. to time served on one count of assaulting a flight attendant and interfering with an interisland flight. Sloan must pay restitution in the amount of $6,398.17 to Hawaiian Airlines, $120 in special assessments, and serve two years of supervised release on count one and two years for count two to run concurrently, according to federal court documents.

Sloan faced maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for the charge of interference with flight crew members and attendants, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of three years. The maximum penalties for the assault charge are one-year imprisonment, a fine of $100,000 and a term of supervised release of one year.

Sloan entered guilty pleas March 17.

At about 7:30 a.m. Sept. 23, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 152 was in the air from Honolulu to Hilo when a flight attendant collecting trash was punched in the chest by Sloan in an unprovoked attack. The male attendant, who did not know Sloan, was shocked, according to federal court documents.

The attendant tried to move away and protect himself but an “agitated” Sloan hit him on the back left side of his head. Sloan then sat back down “as if nothing had happened,” according to the affidavit.

The attendant told the other flight attendants to abandon their normal flight duties and to monitor the doors of the aircraft in the event Sloan tried to open them. The captain of the plane was told of the assault and returned the flight to Honolulu, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The flight carrying 80 passengers and five crew members diverted back to Honolulu, where deputy sheriffs boarded the plane and arrested him. After his arrest, Sloan received treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues, according to federal court documents.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and State of Hawaii Department of Public Safety – Sheriff Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren W.K. Ching.