ATLANTA — A 43-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for interfering with the performance of a flight crew’s duties.
According to the feds, William Allen Liebisch carried a box cutter on Frontier Airlines Flight 1761, traveling from Cincinnati to Tampa, Florida. Prosecutors say he told a fellow passenger that he wanted to stab someone aboard the flight, causing the pilot to make an emergency landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Once the plane landed, the passengers were instructed to deplane immediately and to leave their belongings on the plane. Atlanta Police Department officers had positioned themselves at the gate and, to maintain calm, chose not to board the plane but to wait for Liebisch to exit.
“The flying public deserves to travel in peace without fear that a fellow passenger will create a violent disturbance,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Liebisch’s conduct created panic among the flight crew and his fellow travelers. His prosecution and sentence hopefully provide a message of deterrence to others.”