New details have emerged about an incident onboard a jetBlue flight from New York JFK to San Francisco last Sunday during which a passenger stands accused of brandishing a knife, snorting cocaine in full view of his seatmates and acting so aggressively that the pilot felt he had no other choice but to divert the plane to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Other passengers onboard the flight claim Mark Scerbo, 42, was agitated before he even got onboard the plane but things allegedly quickly deteriorated as the flight progressed. According to court documents, Scerbo claimed he was the prophet Genghis Khan and accused his seatmate of being in the CIA before making inappropriate comments to her.
Details of what happened on jetBlue flight 915 initially came to light after the Captain addressed the other passengers once Scerbo had been removed from the plane by law enforcement. The Captain gave a blow by blow account of what happened, including Scerbo’s alleged drug-taking, which involved multiple trips to the bathroom and a flight attendant finding a bag of white powder in his seat.
An affidavit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota now provides even more details – including an allegation that Scerbo, who was sat in JetBlue’s Mint Business Class, threw his food on the floor and grabbed a metal butter knife from his tray and brandished it while walking up and down the aisle in full view of a young child.
His seatmate claims she saw Scerbo dip his finger into a bag of white powder and snort it, although he ended up with white powder all over his moustache, face and pants. During the flight, Scerbo was observed to visit the restroom at least six times.
A flight attendant later found a bag containing a white substance at Scerbo’s seat which later field-tested positive for cocaine and weighed 24.5 grams. Scerbo told FBI agents that the powder was creatine.
Scerbo’s behavior became so erratic – at one point singing out loud, doing yoga moves in other passengers faces and repeatedly calling another passenger a “faggot” that the Captain decided to divert the flight so that Scerbo could be removed from the plane.
Scerbo has been charged with one count of possession of cocaine. If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment. The case may also be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which has the power to propose a civil penalty of up to $35,000.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Photo Credit: EQRoy / Shutterstock.com
This report is inaccurate. I was there. The passenger claimed to be Kubla Khan. How difficult is if to get simple facts straight? The passenger, who sat very close to me said he needed his powdered substance for medicinal purposes and seemed to be feeling much better once used. I know. Again. I was there. Again with the overreaction. It never ends.
Hi Jans,
The article is based on an affidavit filed in a US District Court… I, therefore, stand by the accuracy of the report.