Woodside Man Accused of “Masturbating In Flight” Escorted Off LAX-Bound Virgin America Plane

A commercial airplane traveling from Boston to Los Angeles was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Nebraska because of an unruly passenger from the Bay Area.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Virgin America flight made the unscheduled landing Monday morning at Omaha's Eppley Airfield following a medical emergency on board.

But the police report paints a slightly different picture. Twenty-six-year-old Doug Adams, of Woodside, was “masturbating in flight and later tried to open an exit door,” according to the Omaha Police Department report acquired by NBC Bay Area on Tuesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office told reporters in Nebraska that Adams was taken to the hospital for observation.

Sam Slater, an LA film producer who videotaped police officers boarding the plane in Omaha and taking a man away in handcuffs, said the passenger was wearing a hospital bracelet and sat behind him on the plane.

Slater's business partner, Paul Bernon, said the man returned from the bathroom and began arguing with a woman sitting next to him and tried to tell an attendant that he wanted her to move.

“He at that point was fidgeting and began to remove the plastic covering from the emergency exit door and tried to pull to open the door,'' Slater said. “Fortunately there were a couple of Boston police officers on the flight that were there at that point to help as well.''

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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