Drunken men blamed for flight diversion to Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY (AP) =97 Two apparently intoxicated men whose in-flight=20 behavior led to an unscheduled stop at the Salt Lake City airport are=20 facing felony charges.Andrew Maxwell, 20, of Madisonville, La., and Jacques= =20 Labourer, 23, of New Orleans, are accused of interference with flight crew= =20 members during a Tuesday afternoon American Airlines flight from Vancouver,= =20 British Columbia, to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. They were arraigned Friday=20 in U.S. District Court, where they pleaded not guilty and were freed. A=20 trial was scheduled for Aug. 6. According to court documents, the two were= =20 drinking from two bottles of Crown Royal whiskey they had brought on board= =20 with them. When a flight attendant told them she needed to confiscate the=20 bottles but would give them back at the end of the flight, the men became=20 "verbally abusive." Flight attendants to no avail tried to calm the men by giving them sodas=20 and free in-flight movie headsets. Irritated nearby passengers asked to be= =20 moved away from the men, who were loud and belligerent, court papers say.=20 Maxwell allegedly went to the plane's rear galley and stole several bottles= =20 of liquor. When a flight attendant ordered him back to his seat, he=20 resisted, then complied. The attendants reported the men's behavior to the= =20 pilot, who decided to divert the plane to Salt Lake City, the nearest major= =20 airport. An FBI agent arrested the men when the plane landed at 4:15 p.m.=20 Federal court spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said the charges against the men= =20 carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Rydalch said it was likely=20 prosecutors would seek restitution for the cost to the airline for making=20 the unscheduled stop. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************