A 52-year-old South Carolina man has been sentenced to federal prison for drunk and combative behavior aboard an international flight last year that caused the plane to be diverted to Alaska.
Michael Shane Orndoff Jr., of Greenwood, received a two-year sentence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.
“Regrettably, events such as this have become all too common,” said Michael J. Heyman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska. “Air travel is an essential mode of transportation, especially for Alaskans, and we remain committed to ensuring that every passenger can fly without fear of belligerent and dangerous behavior.”
The fracas unfurled December 17, 2025, when, according to court documents, Orndoff boarded a Delta Airlines flight
in Atlanta bound for Seoul, South Korea.
The flight had been airborne for about an hour by the time Orndoff had consumed four to six large glasses of wine, the documents said. He became intoxicated and belligerent toward the flight crew and others on the plane, including leaning into and breathing on an adjacent female passenger, federal prosecutors said.
When crew members refused further alcohol service to Orndoff, the documents said, he attempted to coax other passengers, including a minor, to buy alcohol for him. Eventually, Orndoff grabbed a bottle of wine from a service cart and locked himself in a bathroom, prosecutors said.
He emerged shortly thereafter with the now empty wine bottle, returned to his seat and continued to harass nearby passengers, the documents said. The female passenger got up and approached crew members in the forward cabin, requesting to be moved to another seat.
Orndoff chased the passenger to the front of the plane and began pounding on the cockpit door while demanding more alcohol, the documents said.
The pilots sealed themselves in the cockpit and diverted the flight to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage while crew members and several passengers subdued Orndoff with zip ties, according to the documents.
Airport police boarded the flight upon landing and escorted Orndoff off the plane. His blood alcohol concentration was eventually measured at .192 - more than double the legal driving limit of 0.08% in most U.S. states.
“Mr. Orndoff’s violent and disruptive behavior jeopardized the safety of the flight crew and his fellow passengers,” said Matthew Schlegel, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Anchorage Field Office. “Interfering with a flight crew is a federal crime that can have catastrophic consequences.”
Earlier this month, an American Airlines flight headed from Dallas to Newark was diverted to Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International after an unruly passenger causing a disturbance had to be restrained with zip ties and duct tape.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man gets 2-year prison stint for unruly behavior on airplane
