From Minneapolis to Boston

Reader Kim Hall alerts us to this report on yesterday’s Minneapolis to Boston flight on Northwest Airlines:

A former police officer is being called a hero after he helped subdue two unruly passengers on a plane over the weekend.
Retired police officer Bob Hayden, who served in Boston and Lawrence for several years, was coming back from Minnesota on a Northwest plane with his wife when the unexpected happened.
Before the flight even took off, Hayden said a man, who appeared aggravated, was walking up and down the aisle of the plane. The flight attendant had to force him into his seat after asking him to do so a few times.
Hayden said after the aircraft finally got in the air, he noticed there was some sort of commotion. The same man had started screaming and fell into the aisle.
Initially, Hayden said he thought the guy was having a heart attack, but he quickly realized the incident might have been staged. According to Hayden, two flight attendants helped the man back into his seat where he continued to yell for the entire flight.
The incident apparently scared some of the plane passengers and even made some people cry, Hayden said.
When the pilot made the announcement the plane was approaching Logan Airport, Hayden said the man who caused the first commotion and a second person began yelling and fell into the aisle. That is when Hayden said he, with the help of a retired U.S. Marine captain, took action.
Hayden said he grabbed the first guy and sat him down. He then pushed the second man onto the floor and cuffed him with a pair of handcuffs a flight attendant had given him. Hayden said he sat next to the two men until police were able to board the plane.
Both men were taken for a psych evaluation, and at this point, are not facing any charges.

Note the perception by the retired police officer that the incident was possibly staged. We’ll be following this story to see if it becomes any clearer. In the meantime, thanks for the tip to Mrs. Hall, innkeeper at Wilmot, New Hampshire’s Ragged Edge Farm.
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