A man who is suspected of being high on drugs during an Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage earlier this week allegedly lashed out and attacked flight attendants as an off-duty nurse who just happened to be a passenger on the plane attempted to administer a life-saving drug that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose.
Christian David Burch, 37, stands accused of interference with flight crew members following a frightening incident aboard Alaska Airlines flight AS183 from Minneapolis on June 25. The maximum sentence for interfering with flight attendants is 20 years imprisonment.
In an affidavit filed by an FBI investigator in federal court, it is alleged Burch first came to notice around two and a half hours into the flight when flight attendants heard a scream from inside the lavatory at the back of the Boeing 737 jet.
A flight attendant asked from outside the lavatory whether Burch was okay but didn’t get a response. There was then another scream from inside the lavatory before Burch suddenly “punched” the door open.
The flight attendant told investigators that she could smell a strange odour which was an “old, burnt, metallic smell”, coming from inside the lavatory. Burch was angry and had “drool and foam coming out of his mouth”.
Burch then walked quickly but awkwardly towards the front of the plane, prompting the First Class flight attendant to block his access to the flight deck door before sitting him down on a jumpseat at the front of the plane because they thought he was suffering a medical issue.
An off-duty nurse who just happened to be on the flight offered to assist and, after assessing Burch, told the flight attendants that he needed Narcan.
Narcan is a form of medicine called Naloxone which is an opioid receptor antagonist that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose. It commonly comes in the form of a nasal spray, and a number of U.S. airlines now voluntarily carry Narcan in their onboard medical kits.
As the flight attendants went to get the Narcan from the medical kit, Burch allegedly became “combative” and started to fight back as the flight attendants held him down so that the nurse could administer the life-saving drug.
Three passengers who were sat in First Class got up and joined the commotion, helping to hold Burch down while flight attendants handcuffed Burch so that the Narcan could be administered.
The Narcan apparently caused Burch to suffer a noseblood, and in the fracas, blood got over several flight attendants and into one of the passenger’s mouths.
During the struggle, one of the flight attendants said she suffered scratches to the neck and hands, and at one point, Burch reached at her with a chokehold motion. Another flight attendant said she saw a silver foil with a white powder inside in Burch’s pocket.
Under interrogation, Burch denied taking opioids and said he had suffered vertigo while in the lavatory, and the next thing he remembers was people on top of him and someone trying to shove something up his nose.
Burch did, however, admit to taking three gummies containing HHC before the flight,
