A man from Arizona was accused in federal court recently for causing a disturbance on an international flight to Salt Lake City, UT, which lasted for several hours. He also reportedly spat on other passengers during the incident.

On January 21, authorities at Salt Lake City International Airport were informed about a flight that was about to arrive with a male passenger who was described as “unruly and abusive”.

Flight #57 of Delta Airlines had taken off from Amsterdam, Netherlands and was on its way to Salt Lake City when the behavior of a man caused a disruption for several hours. Eventually, he was restrained while still on the plane.

According to a witness, a passenger by the name of Darnel Silver Collins,19, began creating a disturbance only an hour after the 10-hour flight had taken off. The witness stated that Collins was being noisy and disruptive, and was also tapping on other passengers.

Collins, who is both a resident of Arizona and a citizen of the Netherlands, intensified his actions by following a female passenger. When the passenger sought assistance from a flight attendant, Collins continued to touch her and was ultimately pushed away.

It has been reported that Collins, a player in the minor league of the Kansas City Royals franchise, returns to his home in the Netherlands during the off-season.

According to witnesses, Collins grabbed hold of a woman’s arm as she left the restroom and refused to release her until others intervened. To prevent further disturbance, flight attendants rearranged the seating of at least eight passengers, but Collins continued to turn around in his seat and try to converse with others, which eventually escalated into aggression, as reported by a flight attendant. Due to concerns of a potential physical altercation, Collins was then relocated to the back of the aircraft, and other passengers in that area were also moved. Despite this, he continued to make physical contact with fellow passengers as they walked by, and even reached out to those two rows ahead of him, as stated in the charging documents.

As per authorities, Collins proceeded to spit at a passenger and his saliva made contact with at least two individuals. He also allegedly used a profanity towards one flight attendant.

As a result of the ongoing disruption, the flight crew utilized “flexicuffs” (disposable handcuffs resembling zip-ties) to restrain him. However, he persisted in unbuckling his seatbelt and standing up, leading to the use of several seatbelt extenders to secure him for the final two hours of the flight.

According to the police, Collins’ actions hindered the flight crew from carrying out their typical responsibilities during the flight as one person had to continuously monitor him.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has accused Collins of both assault and “Interference with a Flight Crew.” He is currently in detention in Utah, as of Wednesday.