A drunk, 1st time flyer arrested after asking flight attendants to join ‘mile-high club’

quote:

---

A Detroit man was arrested for asking two Spirit Airlines flight attendants to join the 'mile high club' after downing shots to calm his nerves before his first flight.

James Warren Finnister, 47, was relocated three times due to his disruptive and intimidating behaviors on a flight from Louisville, Kentucky, to Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint.

Finnister purportedly grabbed two female flight attendants, made his mile high club proposals, and even laid down on the floor before being moved for the third time during the flight.

The complaint also accuses him of yanking one of the flight attendants into his seat and asking questions about entering the aircraft cockpit, but Finnister said he couldn't recall any of these actions.

'I woke up to an FBI agent sitting next to me,' he said. 'I'm trying to get up, and he says, 'You need to sit down.' I said, 'What's up? What did I do?'' he recalled in an interview with the Daily Beast.

---

quote:

---

Authorities met Finnister at the gate at the Orlando International Airport, where he told police that he had consumed 'multiple alcoholic shots to calm his nerves prior to the flight, which he stated was his first,' the complaint reads.

He was arrested and faces federal charges that carries up to 20 years in jail for knowingly interfering with the performance of the duties of the flight crew.

---

quote:

---

After being released on bond on Wednesday night, Finnister dismissed the allegations as 'bogus' and asserted that he was asleep for most of the two-hour flight.

Finnister said he took a five-hour bus ride from Detroit, Michigan, to Louisville on Monday to see his cousin, and planned to take a flight to visit other family members.

The Tuesday morning flight was his first time flying and he felt 'extra geeked, kinda scared' about it, he said.

The 47-year-old decided to take some vodka shots before leaving his cousin's place to the airport.

'When I first walked in the plane, I made a joke - I said, 'This one of those mile high flights?' Finnister recalled.

'They laughed and sat me by the window, [because] it was my first time flying… I was talking to a father and son next to me. We took off, I seen the clouds, and I fell asleep for two hours.'

'I asked about the cockpit, like, is this the cockpit up here? I never been on a plane, I wanted to have a look,' he said.

'And so they took me to jail. The charges are so bogus. It really ain't no charge,' he said, denying most allegations in the complaint.

---