A high-flying New Jersey man was arrested for trying to open a plane door and propositioning a flight attendant for sex after eating 10 marijuana edibles.
Eric Nicholas Gapco, 26, is facing federal charges for his disruptive behavior, which included shouting, singing at the top of his lungs, vaping, harassing passengers and assaulting a flight attendant.
At one point, a video of the incident shows the New Jersey native having to be dragged out of the bathroom after locking himself in it.
Mr Gapco’s behavior was a result of an extreme high he was experiencing after consuming too much marijuana.
The ordeal forced the pilots of the American Airlines flight from Seattle to Dallas to emergency land in Utah. Mr Gapco was then arrested at Salt Lake City International Airport where he broke a glass door.
American Airlines flight 2101 took off from Seattle on the evening of July 18, but it wasn’t in the air for very long before Mr Gapco of Delanco, New Jersey, caused a stir.
While he had taken the drugs before the flight, he said he did not know how much THC – the psychoactive chemical in weed – was in each edible.
Once on board, he allegedly refused to stay seated, propositioned a flight attendant for sex, vaped, and took his clothes off.
News reports also say he offered a fellow passenger a bag of unidentified pills and yelled ‘I’m sane!’ as he was escorted off the plane.
Footage of the event showed passengers taking it upon themselves to restrain Mr Gapco and help flight attendants escort him off the plane.
As he walked slowly down the plane’s aisle, he sang, ‘You say “po-tay-to”, I say “po-tah-to”.’
While it is not clear how many milligrams of THC Mr Gapco consumed, some types of edibles contain up to 100 milligrams of the compound.
Eating 10 of those would put his THC consumption at 1000 mg. Even for a frequent cannabis user, this is a very high dose.
It is possible to overdose on THC, though it likely won’t kill you. Signs of an overdose include panic attacks, rapid heart beat, nausea and vomiting, delusions and hallucinations, and seizures.
At first, he denied taking any illegal drugs. But he later admitted to consuming a hefty amount to the arresting officers.
Recreational cannabis use is legal in New Jersey and Washington, though not Texas. Even though cannabis is legal in around two dozen states, it remains federally illegal. Taking it across state lines is prohibited by federal law.
Moreover, marijuana is still marked as a schedule 1 substance alongside cocaine and heroin. This means trying to sneak it by TSA could result in criminal charges.
He was charged with interference with a flight crew and attempted damage to an aircraft in the United States’ special aircraft jurisdiction.
American Airlines told McClatchy News: ‘The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority.
‘We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.’
Prosecutors said he continued to be disruptive when he disembarked from the plane, writing in the motion for his detention that he was ‘combative with medical staff and the police,’ prosecutors wrote in the motion for his detention. ‘At one point, he spat on an officer.’
